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Rain may play spoilsport
Test captain to be named today
Sourav shouldn’t beg for a place, says |
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English media ups attack on BCCI
Explosion disrupts play
Australia blow away West Indies
Mithali, Anjum steer India to safety
Goa
thrash Maharashtra, lift Santosh Trophy
Nalbandian climbs to No. 6
Delhi set to get 2014 Asian Games
Mewa Singh wins 100 m gold
Harika keeps medal hopes alive
Indian golfers shine in Pak
Neelam’s fate to be decided by Nov 29
Irina to defend title
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Rain may play spoilsport
Chennai, November 21 The entire ground today was covered with tarpaulin sheets and super-soppers were used to drain out water, which had collected on the outfield and around the boundary line. Because of the heavy rain neither of the two teams could practise today and the players remained confined to their hotel rooms. TNCA officials said if it did not rain tomorrow morning the match would certainly be held. The match is scheduled to begin at 2.30 pm. According to the weather prediction, a depression in the Bay of Bengal led to heavy rains in Tamil Nadu and more rains were expected for the next two days. South African coach Micky Arthur while visiting the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium said, “It looks like the match will be rained off.” Arthur, who came to the ground to assess the conditions along with a few South African players remarked, “It will be a tight series if the match is rained off.” The South African coach, who seemed pessimistic about the match being played because of weather said “it will not dampen spirits of our boys who are professional players”. Later during the day, Indian coach Greg Chappell, while addressing the media, said he was confident that Sachin Tendulkar would get back his form any time. Chappell said, “He is a champion and a champion can get back to form at any time. I marvel the number of matches he has played and I am amazed with the amount of enthusiasm he is showing. He is as enthusiastic as a school boy.” He felt this series would be a tight one and said, “If the third ODI is washed out, then it will be a tight series. So let’s wait and see.” Indian captain Rahul Dravid said he would not reveal the team today but keep the South Africans guessing and added, “We have not decided on the playing eleven and we will decide it tomorrow morning. We will keep changing the batsmen’s positions as per the matches and maintain the flexibility. We want to keep the rivals guessing.” He did not feel that being without practice for a day would affect the form of the players and said, “We are playing a lot of cricket and missing one or two days of practice will not affect us. We are professional enough to cope with the loss of practice. He said the South African would be under pressure tackling Indian spinners. “Harbhajan is a key and critical member. He is a match-winner and has bowled very well in this series. Kartik has also bowled beautifully. They can put the South Africans under a bit of pressures,” he said. |
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Test captain to be named today
Chennai, November 21 The fourth one-dayer is scheduled to be held in Kolkata, while the series will conclude in Mumbai with a day-night encounter on November 28. The selection committee meeting assumes importance for deposed skipper Sourav Ganguly, who has been trying to make a comeback to the national team after being dropped from the one-day outfit last month. The
left-hander has had mixed luck in domestic matches after a fine century against North Zone in a Duleep Trophy match recently.
The Bengal batsman has gone on record to say he was willing to play in any position and had no problems in playing under Rahul Dravid.
— PTI |
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Sourav shouldn’t beg for a place, says Kapil Dev
Kolkata, November 21 “There is no politics involved in Ganguly being kept out of the team. Here, his character is important. He should be solid in his mind and has to bounce back and prove his detractors wrong,” he said on the sidelines of a function. Saying that he understood the sentiments of Ganguly’s fans in Kolkata, who are dismayed by the local player missing out on a place in the Indian team, Kapil said, “He has served the country well. And we all miss him. But don’t you miss me, or Sunil Gavaskar?” When a scribe reminded him that Ganguly had scored a hundred in Zimbabwe where India won the Test series under him, Kapil said, “That’s yesterday. Let us look for what is best for the country today.”
— PTI |
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English media ups attack on BCCI
London, November 21 A report in The Guardian said England were being pushed to the limit by the Indian Board’s “increasingly ridiculous” arrangements for the tour in March next year, referring to India’s decision to allot England’s warm-up matches to Agartala and Jamshedpur. “Agartala, the capital of the impoverished north-eastern state of Tripura might delight the occasional intrepid backpacker with hills on three sides, several lakes and temples and the Bangladesh plains rolling before it, but its main ground has never staged a first class match and the entire state lacks a hotel of even modest quality,” said the report. “India’s apparent disrespect, possibly designed to sap English spirits by keeping them permanently upcountry, should be enough for the England and Wales Cricket Board to abandon its failed policy of polite engagement and if necessary ask the ICC to intervene,” it said. Former BCCI chief Jagmohan Dalmiya was also not spared by the media which termed him as a “man seemingly intent on pursuing a never-ending vendetta against the English authorities” and held him partly responsible for the preparing of the “illogical” itinerary.
— PTI |
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Pakistan in driver’s seat
Faisalabad, November 21 Ian Bell (36) and Kevin Pietersen (four) were batting together for England when bad light stopped play. Pakistan paceman Rana Naved bowled Andrew Strauss (12) and captain Michael Vaughan (two) in successive overs to leave England struggling on 39 for two. Mohammad Sami struck just before close when he got opener Marcus Trescothick to inside edge to wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal on 48. Akmal dived to his right to take the catch low off the ground as Trescothick fell after facing 115 balls and hitting eight fours in 150 minutes of batting. Earlier, Inzamam made 109 to equal Javed Miandad’s record for the most Test centuries by a Pakistani, while Shahid Afridi plundered 92 to take the team to an imposing total. The Pakistan skipper was run out in a controversial fashion by Steve Harmison when the fast bowler threw down the stumps off his own bowling and Inzamam, in avoiding the ball, momentarily lifted his foot and left the crease. The third umpire ruled him out, although cricket laws state that a batsman cannot be dismissed in such circumstances. “I was just avoiding the ball and in the rule book it says that’s not out,” Inzamam said. Scoreboard Pakistan (1st innings) Malik c Flintoff b Hoggard 27 Butt c G. Jones b Harmison 26 Younis c Pietersen b Flintoff 7 Yousuf c and b Bell 78 Haq run out 109 Afridi c Trescothick Akmal c G. Jones b Giles 41 Rana Naved b Harmison 25 Sami c and b Giles 18 Shoaib c Flintoff b Harmison 12 Kaneria not out 4 Extras
(b-5, lb-3, nb-15) 23 Total (all out, 115.4 overs) 462 Fall of wickets:
1-53, 2-63, 3-73, 4-201, 5-346, 6-369, 7-403, 8-431, 9-446. Bowling:
Hoggard 22-0-115-2, Flintoff 29-2-76-1, Giles England (1st innings) Trescothick c Akmal b Sami 48 Strauss b Rana 12 Vaughan b Rana 2 Bell not out 36 Pietersen not out 4 Extras
(nb-10, w-1) 11 Total (3 wickets, 36 overs) 113 Fall of wickets:
1-33, 2-39, 3-107. Bowling: Shoaib 8-1-28-0, Rana Naved 10-2-23-2, Sami 8-3-22-1, Afridi 3-0-10 0, Kaneria 7-0-30-0.
— Reuters |
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Explosion disrupts play
Faisalabad, November 21 “A carbonated drink cylinder gave up to pressure and it exploded,” said Capt
Ameen, a district police officer. “Probably the cylinder in one of the dispensers... was exposed too much in the sunlight and that is why this happened.” Ameen said a police constable sustained a minor leg injury. Play was immediately stopped after the explosion and security staff cordoned off the pitch, but the players did not leave the field. England’s opening batsman Marcus Trescothick was about to face paceman Shoaib Akhtar in the 29th over of the innings when the explosion happened, with England’s total at 92 for
two. Trescothick immediately ran towards the pavilion, but then stopped midway as security personnel cordoned off the area. |
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Australia blow away West Indies
Hobart, November 21 The win at the Bellerive Oval clinched the Frank Worrell Trophy after Australia won the opening Test by 379 runs in Brisbane. The third Test begins on Friday in Adelaide. Australia needed just 78 runs in their second innings after scoring 406 in the first. Hayden was out for 46 with the scores tied, but opener Michael Hussey, named man of the match after his maiden Test century in the first innings, hit the winning run for Australia and was 31 not out. The West Indies scored only 149 in their first innings after captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul won the toss and elected to bat. They scored 334 in their second innings, with allrounder Dwayne Bravo contributing 113. Australia were led by Hussey’s 137 and Hayden’s 110 in the first innings. Hayden was the only cricketer to have scored 1,000 runs in a calendar year four times in a row, a record he extended to five today. He started the day with one of his patented shots, moving down the pitch and flicking the first delivery today over midwicket for four. Glenn McGrath led the Australian bowlers in the Test with six wickets — four in the first innings — while Brett Lee and Stuart MacGill added five each and Shane Warne had four. Fidel Edwards took three wickets for the West Indies. Scoreboard West Indies (1st innings) 149 Australia (1st innings) 406 West Indies (2nd innings) 334 Australia (2nd innings) Hussey not out 31 Hayden c sub b Gayle 46 Ponting not out 0 Extras
(1-nb) 1 Total: (one wicket, 26.1 overs) 78 Fall of wicket:
1-77. Bowling: Edwards 5-1-16-0, Powell 7-1-21-0, Bravo 7-1-21-0, Gayle 6-2-16-1, Sarwan 1.1-0-4-0.
— AP |
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Mithali, Anjum steer India to safety
New Delhi, November 21 Mithali and Anjum were in fine form as they put the English bowling attack to sword by hitting some delectable boundaries. Scoreboard India (1st innings) Monica c Smith b Gunn 6 Jain cBirch b Harper 40
Mithali c Greenway Anjum c Newton Rumeli not out 33 Asha b Harper 9 Amita not out 4 Extras
(b-1, lb-6, w-2) 9 Total (5
wkts, 98 overs) 244 Bowling: Brunt 19-6-39-0, Gunn 19-6-42-1, Morgan 15-4-42-1, Harper 26-7-48-2, Birch 11-1-39-1, Edwards 8-2-27-0. |
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Goa thrash Maharashtra, lift Santosh Trophy Kochi, November 21 In a well contested match, the teams shared one goal each in the regulated time. However, in the extra time Nicholas and Joaquim sealed Goans victory scoring two goals, to regain the title which they had lost six years ago to Kerala. — UNI
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Nalbandian climbs to No. 6
Shanghai, November 21 Federer was assured of the No. 1 year-end ranking for the second consecutive year after claiming his 11th title of the season at Bangkok, Thailand, on October 2. The 24-year-old Swiss star finished almost 2,000 points clear of No. 2 Rafael Nadal of Spain in the ATP’s entry ranking system. Federer has remained at No. 1 since February 2004, when the rankings were released following his win at the Australian Open. He was 81-4 in 2005, including titles at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. The top four remained unchanged in the latest rankings, released today. French Open winner Nadal stayed ahead of American Andy Roddick at No. 3 and Australia’s Lleyton Hewitt at No. 4. Nadal and Roddick skipped the eight-man Masters Cup due to injuries. Hewitt remained in Sydney, Australia for the pending birth of his child with his actress wife, Rebecca Cartwright. Russia’s Nikolay Davydenko moved two places to fifth. He played 30 tournaments, a season-high for anyone in the top 25, winning one title and reaching the semifinals at eight other events, including the French Open and the Masters Cup. He lost in the semifinals here to Nalbandian on Saturday. Nalbandian was drafted into the Masters Cup when Roddick withdrew. His 6-7 (4), 6-7 (11), 6-2, 6-1, 7-6 (3) win over Federer in the final helped him climb up from No. 12 and finish in the Top 10 for the third consecutive season. Andre Agassi, who lost to Davydenko before retiring from the Masters Cup, and Guillermo Coria each dropped two places to Nos. 7 and 8, while Croatia's Ivan Ljubicic and Gaston Gaudio each slipped a place to Nos. 9 and 10. Argentina had three men in the Top 10: Nalbandian, Coria and Gaudio. Another Argentine, Mariano Puerta, was ranked 12th, one place behind Fernando Gonzalez of Chile. Australian Open champion Marat Safin of Russia finished at No. 13 after an injury-plagued end to the season, while Sweden's Thomas Johansson was 14th.
— AP |
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Delhi set to get 2014 Asian Games
New Delhi, November 21 “But since Busan hosted the Asiad in 2002, we are almost certain of getting the games,” he said. Mr Kalmadi was addressing a seminar on Australia-India Collaboration in Sports and Major Sporting Events. The 2006 Asian Games would be held in Doha, Qatar, while Guangzhou, China, would host the 2010 edition. Mr Kalmadi, also the Chairman of the 2010 Commonwealth Games Organising Committee, said India managed to get the backing of several Commonwealth members because of the enormous trade and investment opportunities it offered. A successful bid for the Asian Games could go a long way in fulfilling India’s aspirations of hosting the Olympic Games, he said. “It is good for us that London bagged the games for 2012, which gets Europe out of the way. That, coupled with Beijing hosting the 2008 Olympics, could work in our favour,” he said. “We have also convinced South Africa to delay their bid till 2020.”
The infrastructure for the Commonwealth Games and the Asiad could be used for the Olympics, Mr Kalmadi added.
— PTI |
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Mewa Singh wins 100 m gold
Ferozepore, November 21 In weightlifting (62 kg), Mandeep Singh of Nawanshahr bagged the first place by lifting 152.5 kg. The second and third places went to Sangrur’s Maninder Singh and Amandeep Singh, who lifted 150 kg and 140 kg, respectively. Navdeep Singh of Ferozepore secured the first position in javelin throw. He threw the javelin to a distance of 45.30 m. The second place went to Hirdaypal of Amritsar, while Kapurthala’s Harjit Singh got the third place. Results: Weightlifting: 56 kg: 1. Harpreet Singh (Ropar) 165 kg, 2. Sukhwinder Singh (NS) 155 kg, 3. Mukesh Butta (Ldh) 147.5 kg. 62 kg: 1. Mandeep Singh (NS) 152.5 kg, 2. Maninder Singh (Sang) 150 kg, 3. Amandeep Singh (Sang) 140 kg. 69 kg: 1 Kulbir Singh (Ldh) 177.5 kg, 2. Gursimran Singh (GSP) 175 kg, 3. Jagmit Singh (Sang) 145 kg. 77 kg: 1 Dharampal Singh (Kpt) 205 kg, 2. Pushpinder Singh (Pta), 197.5 kg, 3. Mandeep Singh (Pta) 150 kg. 85 kg: 1. Ravinder Partap Singh (Ropar), 185 kg, 2. Pardeep Singh (Sang) 180 kg, 3. Narinder Kumar (Ldh) 127.5 kg. Athletics: Javelin throw: 1. Navdeep Singh (Fzr) 45.30 m, 2. Hirdaypal Singh (Asr) 45.05 m, 3. Harjeet Singh (Kpt) 37.42 m. 3000m: 1. Sukhdeep Singh (FGS) 9:33.37 seconds, 2. Harpreet Singh (Sang) 9:34.34 seconds, 3. Amandeep Singh (Kpt) 9:34.57 seconds. 100 m: Meva Singh (Sang) 11.85 seconds, 2. Yadwinder Singh (Fdk) 11.90 seconds, 3. Harvinder Singh (FGS) 12.13 seconds. High jump: 1 Sewak Singh (Ldh) 1.70 m, 2. Lakwinder Singh (Sng) 1.70m, 3. Gurdeep Singh (Mkt) 1.65 m. Discus throw: 1 Karanbir Singh (Pta) 36.27 m, 2. Narvir Singh (Kpt) 32.43, 3. Jasmail Jit Singh (Mga) 29.65 m. Tug-of-war: (semifinals): Ropar b Muktsar 2-0, Kapurthala b Amritsar 2-0, Volleyball: Kapurthala b Ferozepore 25-15, 25-12, Sangrur b Moga 25-4, 25-10, Faridkot b Mansa 25-8, 25-15, Gurdaspur b Ropar 25-13, 15-25, 25-22, Hoshiarpur b Bathinda 25-14, 25-15, Patiala b Amritsar 25-11, 25-15, Ludhiana b Muktsar 25-16, 25-21, Jalandhar b Nawanshahr 25-14, 25-21, Sangrur b Faridkot 25-16, 25-14, Patiala b Gurdaspur 25-11, 25-15, Jalandhar b Kapurthala 25-20, 28-26. Kabaddi: Jalandhar b Muktsar 56-29, Faridkot b Mansa 50-38, Kapurthala b Moga 43-27, Ludhiana b Bathinda 59-19, Hoshiarpur b Gurdaspur 31-28, Sangrur b Nawanshahr 37-13, Ferozepore b Ropar 50-36, Faridkot b Fatehgarh Sahib 61-51, Jalandhar b Kapurthala 48-27, Sangrur b Hoshiarpur 29-11, Ludhiana b Ferozepore 72-52. Kho-kho: Patiala b Ferozepore, Mansa b Ropar, Moga b Fatehgarh Sahib, Bathinda b Muktsar, Sangrur b Nawanshahr, Bathinda b Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur b Moga, Ludhiana b Mansa, Sangrur b Patiala. Football: Jalandhar b Fatehgarh Sahib 1-0, Kapurthala b Sangrur 6-5, Gurdaspur b Patiala 3-0, Nawanshahr b Muktsar 4-0. Hockey: (quarterfinals) Ferozepore b Gurdaspur 5-0, Faridkot b Ropar 1-0, Jalandhar b Fatehgarh Sahib 3-0. |
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Harika keeps medal hopes alive
Istanbul, November 21 But former Asian junior girls champion Tania Sachdev’s medal prospects suffered a decisive setback after she was beaten by Woman Grandmaster Natalija Pogonina of Russia. At the top of the table, the lead position changed hands once again as German stalwart Elisabeth Paehtz grinded Irina Vasilevich of Russia to emerge as the new leader of the event. Paehtz moved to 8.5 points out of a possible 11 and is now half a point ahead of Pogonina, Xiaobing, Vasilevich and Turkan Mamedjarova of Azerbaijan. Harika, with 7.5 points in her bag, is joint sixth in the standing list and needs a fine finish now. In the boys section, 2003 champion Grandmaster Shakhriyar Mamedyarov was once again content with a draw with Wang Yue of China.
— PTI |
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Indian golfers shine in Pak
Lahore, November 21 Saddiq clinched the second spot with 281 aggregate, while Mehmood was third with 284.
In the women’s section, Vaishavi edged out compatriot Sharmila Nicollet to bag the title.
— UNI |
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Irina to defend title
New Delhi, November 21 Twelve out of 14 of the Indian Golf Union Ladies Section Order of Merit players figure in the lineup for the 72-hole tournament, open only to handicaps of -12 and below. Irina, who won all eight out of eight national golf tournaments in 2001, has to contend with strong young challengers. Sharmila Nicollet and Vaishavi Sinha, both 14-year-olds, and 17-year-olds Bhavna Shetty and Kanika Minocha, are expected to give a tough fight to Irina. |
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Gian Singh hockey
New Delhi, November 21 |
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Aspen Crew lift Cariappa Cup
New Delhi, November 21 |
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