 |
|
|
Rain-marred Test gets under way
Same team for second Test
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
VRV asked to join team in Delhi
BCCI poll report submitted to SC
Cricketers fined for clashing
Sania drops to 34
Bhutia to lead football team at SAF tourney
Kusal sets new national record
Cyclist winning bronze in Asiad dead
Ludhiana are Punjab hockey champs
GTB girls shine in cricket meet
Jeev moves up, Atwal slips
|
|
Rain-marred Test gets under way
Chennai, December 5 With the match left with only academic interest, the Sri Lankans provided an early spark to the proceedings by sending back the Indian openers to the pavilion by the ninth over after Indian skipper Rahul Dravid had won the toss and elected to bat. Reduced to 45 for two, Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar then dug in and played out the day without any more setbacks to help India finish the day on 90 for two in 32.3 overs. Dravid was batting on 30 while Tendulkar was agonisingly slow in collecting 11 runs off 69 deliveries when umpires offered bad light and the players promptly accepted it. The Indian captain took 95 balls to make his runs with the help of three fours. With the first three days being completely washed out without a ball being bowled, there was respite all around when sun came out and umpires decided to go for the toss at 2:30 pm. But India were in for some nasty time on a wicket rendered spongy by continuous rains over the past few days. The ball kept treacherously low and Gautam Gambhir was the first casualty, the left-handed opener being clean bowled by Chamina Vaas for a duck. His opening partner Virender Sehwag, however, entertained the motley crowd which thronged the M A Chidambaram Stadium to catch some action after the disappointment of the first three days. The right-hander was lured into the fielding trap laid by Marvan Atapattu, the rival skipper himself taking a good overhead catch at short-cover off Vaas who impressed immensely with the new ball. Sehwag made 36 off 28 balls. But Dravid and Tendulkar, who is just one century short of a world record tally of 35 tons, ensured they did not give anything away to the islanders, seeking their first ever Test win on Indian soil. Earlier, with bright sunshine since morning, it was decided to have 150 minutes of play with a minimum of 38 overs. Thanks to the massive and untiring efforts by the ground staff, the pitch and the outfield were made playable, though the boundary was made shorter by about 10 yards to avoid the worst affected area towards the edge of the ground. Scoreboard
Gambhir b Vaas 0 Sehwag c Atapattu b Vaas 36 Dravid batting 30 Tendulkar batting 11 Extras (b-8, lb-1, nb-4) 13 Total (2 wkts, 32.3 overs) 90 Fall of Wickets:
1-13, 2-45. Bowling: Vaas 10-4-15-2, Fernando 9-0-43-0, Muralitharan 10.3-2-20-0, Malinga 3-2-3-0.
— PTI |
|
Same team for second Test
Chennai, December 5 Chief selector Kiran More and newly elected Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Secretary Niranjan Shah today announced that there would not be any change in the squad and the same team would be retained for the Delhi Test which gets underway on Saturday. Team for the third Test, scheduled in Ahmedabad from December 18-22, will be announced on the fourth day of the Delhi Test.
Team: Rahul Dravid (captain), Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Sourav Ganguly, Mohammad Kaif, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wicketkeeper), Anil Kumble, Irfan Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Ajit Agarkar, Rudra Pratap Singh, Murali Kartik and Gautam Gambhir.
— UNI |
|
VRV asked to join team in Delhi
Chennai, December 5 Addressing a press conference along with the new BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah at the end of the truncated fourth day’s play of the first Test, More said no other names were discussed for selection during the meeting, but they discussed a lot about spotting talent in the Ranji trophy matches going on presently. “We have decided to retain the same squad for the second Test as there was hardly any play in the first Test here,” the former India stumper said. — UNI |
|
BCCI poll report submitted to SC
New Delhi, December 5 Krishnamurthy drove down to the Supreme Court and submitted his report in a “sealed cover” to its Registrar General
V.K. Jain. Refusing to comment on the contents of the report, he said since the matter was before the court, he would not like to disclose it. It was the “prerogative” of the court to disclose it, the former CEC said. He, however, said he had made certain suggestions how the election to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) should be conducted in future. The Supreme Court, which had appointed him observer for holding the elections after the BCCI and some state cricket bodies had agreed upon his name, was directed to submit his report to it by the court. It was to the credit of Krishnamurthy that the election of the BCCI President and other office -bearers of the board were held without any controversy this time. |
|
|
Cricketers fined for clashing
Hyderabad, December 5 The BCCI acted on match referee Suresh Deo’s recommendations on the sledging incident in which Arjun Yadav took out the stumps and threatened to hit
A.T. Rayudu. The incident took place when Rayudu cracked a half century that took Andhra nearer to an impossible target and was out. Arjun showing the way to the pavilion infuriated
Rayudu, who showed his bat and said a few words to the Hyderabad captain, which alleged had reference to Arjun’s father Shivlal Yadav. On hearing his father’s name, Arjun angrily took out the stumps and threatened to hit
Rayudu. The umpires intervened and play was resumed. Rayudu was transferred to Andhra this season after his place in the Hyderabad team was under threat.
— UNI |
|
|
Croatia lift Davis Cup
Bratislava, December 5 Ancic beat Michal Mertinak in the finale of the best-of-five series, 7-6 (1), 6-3, 6-4, to give Croatia its first Davis Cup with a 3-2 win over Slovakia. Ancic has languished in the shadow of doubles partner Ivan Ljubicic and the country’s veteran sports idol, Goran Ivanisevic, who came out of retirement for the final. Although unbeaten in doubles, Ancic’s only singles win in the Davis Cup this season came in a meaningless match against Romania after Croatia already had advanced to the semifinals. But this one was destined to atone. “It’s an unforgettable match and an unforgettable day,” Ancic said. “I am not sure people realise how big it is to be at the top of the pyramid.” Croatia became the 12th different nation to win the title in the competition's 105-year history. Croatia’s Nikki Pilic became the first captain to win the trophy for different nations. He led Germany to Davis Cup titles in 1988, 1989 and 1993. “There is no comparison. Today I won with my people,” Pilic said at the victory ceremony. “The Davis Cup is one of the greatest competitions in the world and I am really proud of my team.” Lifting one of the most prized trophies in sports was Croatia’s biggest success in a team event since the country gained independence in 1991, eclipsing the soccer team's third-place finish at the 1998 World Cup. Ivanisevic added the Davis Cup championship to his 2001 Wimbledon title.
— AP |
|
Divij Sharan shines
Chandigarh, December 5 However, the other two Chandigarh players, Sunil Sipaeya and Kinshuk Sharma, bowed out of this coveted meet. Tushar Liberhan also lost his match. Wild card Divij Sharan of India upset sixth seed Lee Childs of the UK in one of the most gruelling matches of the day. Frank Moser of Germany also created a flutter when he downed fourth seed Norikazu Sugiyama of Japan. Sunil suffering from a lower back injury could not give his best and conceded after losing the first set to Jeevan. Results: Rohan Bopanna b Tushar Liberhan 6-3, 6-0, Jeevan Neduchezhiayan b Sunil Kumar Sipaeya 6-4 retd, Sanam K Singh b Yi Chu-Huan (Tpe) 6-4, 7-6 (1), Tosshihide Matsui (Japan) b Navdeep Singh 6-3, 6-2, Steve Noblecourt (France) b Kinshuk Sharma 6-2, 6-2, Aisam Qureshi (Pakistan) b Dimitri Makeev (Kaz) 7-6 (3), 6-3, Michal Prizyusiezny (Poland) b Ravishankar Pathanjali 6-1, 4-6, 6-0, Karan Rastogi b Vinod Sridhar 6-2, 6-3, David Brewer (UK) b Motaz Aboul El Khair (Egypt) 6-2, 6-3, Nam Hyun-Woo (Korea) b Simon Roberts (UK) 6-1, 7-6 (3), Frank Moser (Ger) b Norikazu Sugiyama (Japan) 7-6 (5), 7-6 (6), Divij Sharan b Lee Childs (UK) 1-6, 7-6 (0), 7-5, An Jae-Sung (Kor) b Q-Hyung Tae-Kown (Kor) 6-1, 6-1, 2-Smith Matthew (UK) b WC-Ashutosh Singh (India) 6-3, 6-4, Go Soeda (Japan) b Vivek Shokeen (India) 7-5, 2-6, 6-1, Vishal Uppal (India) bt Jozef Maras (SVK) 3-6, 6-2, 7-5. |
|
Sania drops to 34
New Delhi, December 5 The sizzling 19-year old has not played competitive tennis since she pulled out the Bangkok Open in October. One woman’s loss is another’s gain and Russian Anna Chakvetadze displaced Sania form 32nd position while Spain’s Anabel M Garriguess pushed the Indian further down to 34th. The downward spiral continued in doubles, and former Junior Wimbledon Champion Sania dropped a place to 114, according to information received here. Elsewhere, rankings also disappointed Shikha Uberoi as the US-based Indian dropped to 155th place from previous week’s 146th. Veteran Fed Cupper Rushmi, meanwhile, gained three spots to 367th and Ankita Bhambri moved a place up to 387th.
— UNI |
|
|
National tennis meet from December 19
New Delhi, December 5 The Grass Court Nationals has been shifted from Kolkata to Delhi to give the championship more attention. The matches up to the quarterfinals will be held at the Defence Services Officers Club courts while the semifinals and the final will be played at the R K Khanna Stadium, situated at the Delhi Lawn Tennis Association complex. AITA secretary Anil Khanna said the executive committee has decided to give thrust to the Grass Court Nationals, which have not been conducted with regularity over the past few years due to lack of sponsorship. He said henceforth, the Grass Court Nationals will be a “permanent fixture” in Indian tennis. The family of the late AITA president R.K. Khanna will contribute Rs 5 lakh annually towards the conduct of the Grass Court Nationals, and the surplus generated from the championship will be utilised to give scholarships to deserving players. The championship will have total prize money of Rs 8.18 lakh with the title winners of the men’s and women’s singles, getting Rs 1 lakh and Rs 80,000, respectively. The winners will also be given wild cards to the main draw of the Bangalore Open to be held next year. |
|
|
Ajeetesh ties for second spot
Chandigarh, December 5 Jhared Hack of Heathrow, Florida, fired a final round of three under par to emerge a two-over winner over Sandhu and Dale. Fifty-five boys teed it up on Saturday. Ajeetesh Sandhu was the early leader, arriving in the scoring area with a 1 under par round of 71. Ajeetesh made six birdies on the day to lead this division. But Jed Dirksen of Hampton, 2007, bumped Sandhu down a step as he arrived in the scoring area at 3 under par with 5 birdies and only 2 bogeys on the day. Jed's score would hold. Joining Sandhu at -1 was Jhared Hack of Heathrow, FL (2007). On Sunday, Hack, currently ranked 48th in the Golfweek/Titleist rankings, fired a final round of 3 under par 69 to finish at 140 for the event. Hack finished 2 strokes ahead of Ajeetesh Sandhu, who led the division in birdies with 13 for the event and Sean Dale, who fired a bogey-free round of 2 under par 70 to move into the tie for second place with Sandhu. |
|
Bhutia to lead football team at SAF tourney
New Delhi, December 5 A total of 29 probables were called to the camp here under the supervision of new national coach Syed Naeemuddin and the team, which has former footballer P.K. Banerjee as its manager, leaves for Karachi on December 6. The team comprises three goalkeepers, seven defenders, six midfielders besides a quartet of strikers, including Baichung. India are placed in Group B along with Bhutan, Bangladesh and Nepal while Group A consists of Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Maldives. India kick off their campaign with the tie against Nepal on December 8, meet Bhutan two days later and play their last league match against Bangladesh on December 12 at the People’s Stadium. The final is slated for December 17. Squad: Goalkeepers: Sandeep Nandi, Kalyan Chaubey and Felix D’Souza Defenders : Surkumar Singh, Mahesh Gawli, NS Manju, NP Pradeep, Rajeeb Ahmed, M Suresh, Mehraj Uddin Midfielders: S Venkatesh (vice captain), Climax Lawrence, Steven Dias, Mehtab Hussain, James Singh, K. Ajayan Strikers: Baichung Bhutia (captain), Syed Rahim Nabi, Abdul Hakim, Alvito D’Cunha.
— UNI |
|
Kusal sets new national record
Hyderabad, December 5 Rathod hit his 97 out 100 (48 and 49) and needs to shoot another fifty target tomorrow morning. Top six shooters will qualify for the final in the evening. The other leading contenders for the final are: Ronjan Sodhi (Chandigarh) (89); Moradd Ali Khan (UP) (88); Mohd. Asad (Chandigarh) (88); A. D. Sharma (Army) (87); Himanshu (Army) (85); and D. B. Thapa (Army) (81). Jaideep Karmankar of Railways (695.3) and Debesh Panwar (Army) (588) won the gold 50-metre rifle prone National Championship for men and junior men. In the civilian category, Jaideep Benerjee of Railways (589.0) and Tejas R. Kusale of Maharashtra (586) won the golds in 50-metre rifle prone for national championship for men and junior men sections. In the process, Kusal created a new national record by erasing the existing record of Dhirender S. Jamwal (584) at Indore in 2004. In the team championship Army men (1760) won the men title by defeating Navy (1752) by eight points in the 50-metre rifle prone for men. BSF (1747) men secured the bronze medal. In Junior men’s category in the team championship, Army (1756) junior men defeated Utter Pradesh (1127) in the field of two rivals. In the civilian category for 50 m men, Railways (1733) captured the gold while West Bengal (1715) and Kanrataka (1710) won the silver and bronze respectively.
— UNI |
|
Cyclist winning bronze in Asiad dead
Kolkata, December 5 Byasack (84), a widower, was survived by a son and a daughter, according to West Bengal cyclists’ Association general secretary Bani Ghosh. Byasack created history by bagging the bronze in the individual time trial in the 1951 Games, becoming the first Indian to win a medal at the Asiad in the discipline. He was a member of the Indian cycling teams in the 1948 London Olympics and in the next edition of the quadrennial games at Helsinki. He was also the coach of the Indian team on tour to Prague, Berlin and Warsaw in 1956. — PTI
|
|
Ludhiana are Punjab hockey champs
Chandigarh, December 5 Earlier, in the semifinals, Ludhiana blanked Faridkot 4-1, while Jalandhar defeated Amritsar 4-0. It was for the first time that Punjab Championship was conducted in a rural area and on an astroturf belonging to a private organisation. In the final, Jalandhar took the lead in the 12th minute when Jagbir Singh found the target. Ludhiana fought back gamely to restore parity through Gurcharan Singh in the 25th minute. The Jalandhar boys again took the lead in the 38th minute. Scorer once again was Jagjit Singh. Gurcharan again scored an equaliser in the 40th minute. Two more goals by Sardar Singh (54th minute) and Gurwinder Singh (58th minute) made it safe for Ludhiana.
— TNS |
|
GTB girls shine in cricket meet Patiala, December 5 As many as nine cricketers of the school, Gurpreet Kaur Attili, Robin, Gurpreet Kaur (jr), Moksha, Gurpreet Kaur Taggar, Puja Sharma, Jasmeen, Gagandeep and Loveleen, were part of the Patiala team that won the tournament by beating Jalandhar in the final. Earlier, in the semi final Patiala downed Sangrur by 45 runs. At a function organised in the school today, the team members were felicitated by the school principal, Ms Anu. Others who were present on the occasion were Col J.S. Sidhu, manager of the school and Mr Rupinder Singh, who accompanied the squad as the coach. |
|
|
New Delhi, December 5 Meanwhile, Tiger Woods’ lead over nearest rival Vijay Singh is now 7.13 average points at the top of the table and the American begins his 369th week as World Number One. — UNI
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
