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India keen to maintain momentum
Security beefed up
Dravid wants to win for blast victims
Lalit Modi threatens to sue BCCI
DD cracks whip on private channels
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Pak cricketers pledge aid for quake victims
South Africa win
Ireland win cricket meet
Central Zone win by eight wickets
N. Railway eves march into final
Wiratchant wins Indian Open title
Mahindra United lift Federation Cup
Lyallpur Khalsa school in final
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India keen to maintain momentum
Jaipur, October 30 A backlash by the “Lankan lions” can never be ruled out but Marvan Atapattu’s men have a huge task if they have to stop the Indians, who have thoroughly outplayed them in the first two one-dayers. Skipper Rahul Dravid admitted his side would be wary of a Sri Lankan fightback and be on guard to ensure complacency does not creep into the ranks. “We cannot afford to take them lightly, they are capable of bouncing back and there is still a lot of cricket to be played in the series,” he said. However, the fact is that the world’s number two team has been completely thrown out of gear and left groping for a strategy that can undo the Indians. The sudden turnaround in fortunes of the two teams could not have been more contrasting. Only a week ago, Indian cricket was in a turmoil following the Sourav Ganguly-Greg Chappell spat, not to mention the shameful episodes surrounding the Board elections. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, were coming into the series with the reputation of being the world’s number two team in ODIs and the confidence of having beaten the rivals comprehensively in a tri-series at home only recently. But while a batting renaissance aided by the return of a rejuvenated Sachin Tendulkar has put the Indian team back on track, the visitors have been done in by their poor batting form. With five matches to go, the Lankans have enough time to regain ground but given the kind of psychological domination the hosts have established, the series is India’s to lose. The key to India’s reversal of fortunes has been the fantastic return to team and form by the iconic Sachin Tendulkar. The master blaster has prompted paeans to be written all over again by exhibiting lyrical strokeplay of yore and infusing life into the series which initially appeared to be just another string of matches of regular action. As for Sri Lanka, their world status is a pointer to their ability to unruffle any opposition, but the two huge and successive defeats have hit hard at their confidence and suddenly they find themselves in a situation in which India were not many days ago. Sri Lankan top guns like Sanath Jayasuriya, captain Atapattu himself and Mahela Jayawardene have failed to fire and the likes of Russel Arnold and Dilshan Tilakratne have also not been able to do justice to their talent, leaving the batting in a shambles. Opinion is also divided on Kumar Sangakkara opening the innings and it remains to be seen what the Sri Lankan think tank does to set it right. The Sri Lankan bowling has at best been mediocre and their spin trump card Muttiah Muralitharan has also been rendered ineffective largely by the in-form Indian batsmen. While it would be an onerous task for Atapattu now to instil self-belief in his players, Dravid’s task has been made much easier as his team members have responded magnificently to his call for giving more than 100 per cent on the field. The odd controversy or two revolving around dethroned skipper Sourav Ganguly’s return to the team would be best kept at bay especially in the present scenario when everything seems to be going right for the Indians. Any hope the islanders might have had of cashing in on the rumblings in the Indian team following speculation of a comeback by Ganguly was dashed after the selectors decided on Friday not to tamper with a winning combination. The selectors’ thumbs-down for Ganguly has meant a thumbs-up for the youngsters who have been assured of their place even if it is only for the next three matches. With the seniors in the team leading by example, it has been easier for the youngsters to rally around them, just what coach Chappell has envisioned for World Cup 2007. It would be interesting to see India’s gameplan for tomorrow’s match on a track which according to the curator is a batting paradise. The wicket at the new-look Sawai Mansingh Stadium had some grass on it initially but is has been now rolled out.
— PTI |
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Security beefed up
Jaipur, October 30 The three explosions in the national capital yesterday have compelled the Rajasthan Cricket Association to increase the security vigil and deploy extra forces to ensure smooth conduct of the match. With a red alert sounded in the city, RCA president Lalit Modi held an emergency meting last night with State Home Secretary V S Singh to take stock of the situation. “Security has been beefed up after the blast in Delhi and we are leaving nothing to chance. We have increased the level of vigil,” Additional Superintendent of Police Subhash Baishnoi told reporters at Sawai Mansingh Stadium here today. Sniffer dogs and an bomb squads have also been given instructions to set up pickets in crowded areas and at all entry points of the city like the railway station and bus stands.
— PTI |
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Dravid wants to win for blast victims
Jaipur, October 30 “First of all, I would like to express the team’s condolence for those who lost life in the unfortunate, sad incident. I know with cricket we can bring joy to the lives of millions of people and the team can make a big difference with its performance,” he said. “We’ll try our best tomorrow,” he assured on the eve of the match here today. Meanwhile, Gautam Gambhir and RP Singh would sit out of tomorrow’s match, Dravid announced here today. Sri Lanka manager Michael Tissera also mourned the blasts in Delhi. “We felt very sorry because we have been going through the same over the years. We are safe in our hotel there but I told my boys not to go out,” he said. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka captain Marvan Atapattu admitted Sachin Tendulkar was the main woe for his team. “He’s such a good player, who has seen all kinds of conditions and he is on top of his game. Our efforts tomorrow would be to see him off early otherwise it would get too late,” he said. On the poor performance of his bowling spearheads Chaminda Vaas and Muttiah Muralitharan, Atapattu said, “Just because Sachin paddle sweeped him does not make Vaas a bad bowler overnight. Vaas has been rated one of the top five ODI bowlers while Murali did fairly well, considering he was bowling on perfect batting wickets.” Resurgent Tendulkar dominated the pre-match press conference and India coach Greg Chappell said the batting maestro was enjoying his role as an aggressive batsman and it was part of the team strategy. “Missing cricket for more than six months must have been frustrating for Sachin and now he is enjoying the game. It’s part of the team strategy which can vary depending on conditions and situations.” “Another thing is that Sachin is just back from an injury lay-off and we’ll have to ensure we don’t put too much pressure on him,” Chappell said. Chappell also indicated that the team might surprise the hosts with another experiment but added, “We’ll go for it only if it suits our purpose. We are not going to experiment for experiment’s sake.” “We are working on a process where players might be asked to do things which they have not done earlier. This is the mark of a good team and I must say I’m getting good response from the boys,” he said. “Mostly I see one or two players doing well but a good team is which has different players delivering the goods on different occasions,” he added.
— UNI |
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Lalit Modi threatens to sue BCCI
Jaipur, October 30 “The
previous regime did not want Jaipur to host a Test and we were denied of
that despite having the Test status. I’m going to demand a Test here
next year and if it’s turned down, I’m going to move the court,”
he said. “I’ve completed discussions with my legal advisors and
I’m not afraid of moving courts, as you have already seen,” Mr Modi
told reporters. Taking a dig at the Jagmohan Dalmiya camp, Mr Modi
said, “RCA never gets any intimation from the BCCI. Still I’ve
personally called up Mr Dalmiya a day before yesterday and invited him
to attend tomorrow’s match. He was perhaps perplexed and said he would
let me know later.” Mr Modi claimed RCA had raked in Rs 2.4 crore from
advertising alone for tomorrow's match and in fact had to turn down more
such offers. “This is the biggest amount fetched by any association
and the total profit would also be known to the public after the match
is over,” he said. Refuting claims of Income Tax raids at the RCA, he
said, “IT people sent a letter and wanted to know about the revenue to
be earned from tomorrow’s match and we are more than happy to disclose
that not only to the IT department but also to all.” He also informed
that RCA had requested the state government to hand over the Sawai Man
Singh Stadium but rubbished claims that a MoU had been signed by both
the parties. |
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DD cracks whip on private channels
Hyderabad, October 30 “We have the exclusive rights to broadcast 12 one-day matches with Sri Lanka and South Africa. Private news channels using our footage beyond two minutes per day shall have to cough up the amount hereafter”, Prasar Bharati CEO KS Sarma told reporters here. Giving details of the channels overusing footage of the Nagpur match, Sarma said, “TAM Media Research was given the contract to find out the exact time each channel had taken showing Doordarshan footage”. Thirteen private channels have used DD signals for a period ranging from twenty seconds to 70 minutes. Armed with the Delhi
High Court injunction, Sarma said, “We will hereafter raise bills and also
claim damages as the broadcast rights were acquired from BCCI for Rs 7.5 crore and using the footage beyond
30 seconds per news bulletin (total 2 minutes per day) will have to pay for
the footage”. — PTI |
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Pak cricketers pledge aid for quake victims
Islamabad, October 30 Captain Inzamam-ul-Haq, coach Bob Woolmer and 13 other players visited Rawalpindi General Hospital and Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) for more than two hours. Express pacer Shoaib Akhtar did not make it as he was not well. “Our mission is to bring smiles back on the faces of affected people, especially children,” said Inzamam. “Our heart goes out for the victims and it is painful to read the death toll and see the injured after such a massive devastation,” said Inzamam after meeting victims of the earthquake. The players spent half an hour with month-old baby boy Ahmad Akhtar, who had both his legs fractured in the killer quake on October 8. The baby was just a week old when the quake demolished his home in Muzaffarabad which bore the brunt of the disaster. He had also met some members of the England team who visited the hospital on Friday. Six-year-old Waseem Yousuf, who lost all fingers on his right hand, was excited to meet the Pakistan players. “I love Shahid Afridi and am delighted to meet him,” he said. The Pakistan team also announced they would donate part of their match fee for one year. “All players will donate their full match fee from the Multan Test (around $ 25,000), and will continue to donate five per cent of the match fee for one year,” said Inzamam. Pakistan meet England in the first of three Tests at Multan starting from November 12. “We are also donating all expenses on building 100 houses in affected areas,” said Inzamam. Inzamam said his team would visit the now-razed town of Balakot in North West Frontier Province as soon as they had time. Meanwhile, England captain Michael Vaughan and Marcus Trescothick made a flying visit today to the city worst hit by the October 8 earthquake. The team’s media manager Andrew Walpole said Vaughan and Trescothick flew by helicopter to Muzaffarabad, capital of Pakistani-occupied Kashmir, and would also take part in the delivery of some food and medical supplies to affected people. On Friday, Vaughan, Trescothick and team-mates Matthew Hoggard and Ashley Giles visited an Islamabad hospital treating some of the many children injured in the earthquake.
— AFP, Reuters |
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South Africa win Port Elizabeth, October 30 Scoreboard New Zealand Fleming run out 54 Astle c Kemp b Ntini 11 Vincent c Boucher b Ntini 3 Marshall c Smith b Nel 7 Styris b Langeveldt 78 McMillan run out 19 McCullum b Ntini 19 Adams run out 25 Vettori c Gibbs b Nel 6 Mills not out 6 Extras
(lb-5 nb-2 w-8) 15 Total (9 wkts, 50 overs) 243 Fall of wickets:
1-18, 2-23, 3-49, 4-108, 5-155, 6-203, 7-206, 8-224, 9-243. Bowling:
Pollock 10-0-23-0, Ntini 10-0-37-3, Nel 10-1-47-2, Langeveldt 10-0-76-1, Kemp 7-0-40-0, Smith 3-0-15-0. South Africa Smith c McCullumb Adams 18 De Villiers c McCullum Gibbs c Marshall b Bond 81 Rudolph run out 17 Prince c Mills b Adams 21 Boucher run out 24 Kemp not out 30 Pollock not out 21 Extras
(lb-2, nb-1, w-1) 4 Total (6 wkts, 49.2 overs) 245 Fall of wickets:
1-40, 2-48, 3-101, 4-150, 5-187, 6-202. Bowling: Mills 10-2-5-1, Bond 9.2-1-73-1, Adams 10-1 -40-2, Styris 10- 0-32-0, Vettori 9-0-49-0, Astle 1- 0- 4- 0.
— Reuters
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Ireland win cricket meet
Windhoek, October 30 Jeremy Bray hit 64 and combined in an opening stand of 83 with Dominick Joyce, who cracked a rapid 48. Kenya skipper Steve Tikolo grabbed two wickets for Kenya but Ireland’s in-form middle order had few problems reaching the target. Ant Botha was unbeaten on 43, his second important innings of the match following the first innings 78 which enabled the declaration by Trent Johnston, the Ireland captain. That gamble was rewarded with a superb effort from the Irish attack, as they took the remaining seven Kenya wickets for just 48 runs. The key at the start of the day for Ireland was early wickets. They made the perfect start when Maurice Ouma became Andrew White’s third victim with just four runs added to Kenya’s overnight total of 104 for 3. Kyle McCallan then took over the demolition job and snapped up the key wicket of Tikolo — who had made two hundreds in three innings — for 24.
— AFP |
Central Zone win by eight wickets
Surat, October 30 South Zone, facing a deficit of 213 runs on the first innings, were bowled out for 261 in 73.2 overs before lunch. S Sriram remained not out on 136 (13x4) while Laxmipathi Balaji contributed 32 before being bowled by off spinner Piyush Chawla. Scoreboard:
Central Zone (1st innings) 478; South Zone (1st innings) 265; South Zone (2nd innings) R Uthappa lbw Pande 0, R Barrington lbw Bangar 7, S Sriram not out 136, D Kaarthick c Oza b Bangar 11, H Badani c Pande b Abbas Ali 22, A Yadav b Chawla 17, S Nair b Parida 3, K Shahbuddin st Oza b Parida 14, Ram Kumar c Oza b Harvinder Singh 2, L Balaji b Chawla 32, Vinay Kumar c Bangar b Chawla 5; Extras (3-lb, 8-nb, 1-w) 12; Total (all out, 73.2 overs) 261; Fall of wickets: 1-1, 2-33, 3-59, 4-107, 5-153, 6-176, 7-201, 8-204, 9-255; Bowling: Sanjay Pande 13-0-51-1, Harvinder Singh 11-2-36-1, Piyush Chawla 11.2-2-37-3, Sunjoy Bangar 14-2-51-2, K Parida 18-2-56-2, Abbas Ali 6-1-27-1; Central Zone (2nd innings) A Pagnish c Oza (sub) b K Shahbuddin 31, Bangar c Vinay Kumar b Ram Kumar 6, D Bundela not out 1, Abbas Ali not out 14; Total (two wickets, 7.2 overs) 52; Bowling: Vinay Kumar 2-0-16-0, K Shahbuddin 3-0-23-1, Ram Kumar 2-0-9-1, Sri Ram 0.2-0-4-0. — PTI |
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N. Railway eves march into final
Ludhiana, October 30 In the first semifinal, Northern Railway won 4-1 after leading 2-0 at the breather. After wasting two penalty corners initially, the defending champions shot into the lead in the fourth minute when Surinder Kaur scored a field goal. This followed some good attacks by the SAI girls which earned them penalty corners in quick succession, but they failed to capitalise on these chances. Northern Railway’s Balwinder Kaur sounded the board in the 11th minute to make it 2-0. Surinder Kaur again struck in the 27th minute, while Kiran Saini converted a penalty corner in the 51st minute to enhance the lead. Two minutes later, Jharkhand players managed to pierce Northern Railway’s defence, with Anima Soreng stunning custodian Rajni Bala to reduce the margin (1-4). The second semifinal, played between South Eastern Railway and Central Railway turned out to be a keenly contested affair. The issue was resolved vie tie-breaker as the match remained tied 1-1 after extra time. Central Railway took an early lead when Babita Khatri scored in the fourth minute. South Eastern Railway equalised through M Tirkey. In the tie-breaker, Anna Kerketta, S Pardhan, Sarita Lakra and A Lakra sounded the board for South Eastern Railway, while Kanti Baa, Sarita and Manju scored for the losers. The SER eves last reached the final of the tournament in 1999. The final will be held tomorrow. |
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Wiratchant wins Indian Open title
New Delhi, October 30 Though Ghei, who turned 37 today, carded an impressive six-under 66, Wiratchant played a steady game to pip the Indian to the post with a two-stroke lead. Wiratchant had an overall total of 16-under 272. Thaworn, who began the day with a three-stroke lead, carded two-under 70. Ghei, who birdied on the third, sixth, seventh, eighth, 11th and 18th, ran the Thai champion close, but missing a birdie on the par-five 14th did him in. He got a cash prize of $32,400. Pre-tournament favourite Jyoti Randhawa, who was on the third position going into the last round today, fumbled on the back nine to card nine-under 73 to finish tied sixth with Mukesh Kumar, who carded 68. Mukesh was fifth last year. Hendrik Buhrmaan of South Africa carded 70 to share the third position with Wirachant’s compatriot Prom Meesawat. Shiv Kapur, who began with a bogey and double bogey in the first four holes, carded eight-under 69, to be tied for the eighth position with Ashok Kumar and Rick Gibson. Arjun Atwal, who was tipped for the title, carded 70 in the final round to end up tied 11th with two other Indians — Jaiveer Virk, who carded two-over 74 and Shamim Khan, with a sub-par round of 71. Digvijay Singh and Harmeet Kahlon tied for the 15th place with rounds of 74.
— OSR |
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Mahindra United lift Federation Cup
Margao, October 30 Mahindra's Brazilian striker Barretto, who also won the Alchemist Golden Boot for scoring maximum six goals in the tournament along with cash prize of Rs 1 lakh, gave Mahindra the lead in the 36th minute. However, Sporting found the equaliser in the 56th minute through a penalty conversion by Dudu Omagbemi. Both the teams played their hearts out to score the winner but failed in doing so and as a result, the match went into extra time. It was again Barretto, who scored the winner in the last minute off a cross by Steven Dias. — PTI
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Lyallpur Khalsa school in final
New Delhi, October 30 Another Jalandhar team, Government Model Senior Secondary School, however, failed to reach the final as they lost to the Bangladesh Institute of Sports 2-3. Both matches were closely contested, with Lyallpur Khalsa school forging ahead in the fifth minute through a penalty corner conversion by Ashok Kumar, which was neutralised by Belsajar Horo of Sundergarh in the 27th minute. In the second session, Jagseer Singh restored the lead for Lyallpur, who clung to it till the final hooter to emerge victorious.
— OSR |
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DAV School in semis
New Delhi, October 30 Brief scores: DAV: 221 for 7 (Sandeep Kaushik 74, Rajat Jain 62, Rajeev Bose 40; Ankur Pawar 3 for 43, Akshay Chopra 3 for 29); St Marks: 180 for 9 (Mohit Narula 42, Nikhil Mahajan 37; Sandeep Kaushik 3 for 43, Pawan Chauhan 3 for 25, Prateek Suneja 2 for 30). |
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