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Australia need four wickets for victory
Fan ejected from MCG for racist taunts
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Picking Sourav a retrograde step: Waqar
Shoaib can rock India, says Akram
Indian delegation back from Pak
PSB, Indian Oil enter semis
NFL schedule not yet finalised
Rohtak clinch badminton title
Hari slips to second spot
Weightlifting probables Wrestling meet results
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Australia need four wickets for victory
Melbourne, December 29 Symonds assailed the South African bowling with an exhilarating 72 off 54 balls, including six sixes and five fours, and then claimed 2-6 off four overs to have the Proteas teetering on the edge of defeat heading into Friday's final day. Symonds, who could have faced the sack after a first-ball duck in Monday's first innings, has hit back spectacularly over the last two days of the Melbourne Test, claiming 3-50 in the first innings before today's virtuoso performance with bat and ball. At stumps, South Africa had capitulated to 99 for six and were trailing by 266 runs with Ashwell Prince not out 16 in 100 minutes and Shaun Pollock on 13. Australia had tightened the noose on the Proteas with a 237-run lead when Mike Hussey was dismissed shortly after lunch, bringing Symonds to the wicket at 193 for four. Symonds immediately signalled his intentions, slamming Graeme Smith for six off the third ball he faced and then joining Matthew Hayden in a ferocious assault. The two Queenslanders hammered a 124-run partnership in 66 minutes off 93 balls to set up a declaration at 321 for seven 40 minutes before tea on the fourth day. Hayden claimed his fourth century in five years at the ground and his 25th Test ton overall, with 137 in 356 minutes including 17 fours and two sixes. Symonds clobbered sixes off left-arm spinner Nicky Boje (3), off-spinner Smith (2) and paceman Andre Nel, while Hayden clubbed sixes off Nel and Jacques Kallis. Symonds' tally of sixes was the most in a Melbourne Test, surpassing Virender Sehwag's five for India two seasons ago. Hayden was out when he skied Kallis, for wicketkeeper Mark Boucher to glove the catch. Two balls later Symonds holed out to Nel and Adam Gilchrist hit one down the throat of Prince, forcing skipper Ricky Ponting's hand with three wickets falling in Kallis's 11th over. Kallis finished with 3-58 and will be on a hat-trick when he bowls in the Sydney Test next week. South African paceman Makhaya Ntini failed to take the field Thursday with a left medial knee ligament strain and is in doubt for the Sydney Test. Scoreboard
Australia (1st innings) 355 South Africa (1st innings) 311 Australia (2nd innings) Hayden c Boucher b Kallis 137 Jaques lbw Nel 28 Ponting lbw Pollock 11 Hodge c Boucher b Neil 24 Hussey c Kallis b Smith 31 Symonds c Nel b Kallis 72 Gilchrist c Prince b Kallis 0 Warne not out 0 Extras (6b, 3lb, 9nb) 18 Total
(7 wkts dec, 83 overs) 321 Fall of wickets: 1-53, 2-82, 3-131, 4-193, 5-317, 6-321, 7-321. Bowling:
Pollock 23-5-60-1, Ntini 8-2-17-0, Kallis 11-0-58-3, Nel 20-3-71-2, Boje 14-1-65-0, Smith 7-0-41-1. South Africa (2nd innings) Smith c Gilchrist b McGrath 25 De Villiers st Gilchrist b Warne 8 Gibbs b Warne 9 Kallis c Gilchrist b Symonds 9 Prince not out 16 Rudolph b Symonds 4 Boucher c Ponting b Warne 5 Pollock not out 13 Extras
(6lb, 1w, 3nb) 10 Total (6 wkts, 42 overs) 99 Fall of wickets: 1-39, 2-45, 3-58, 4-64, 5-72, 6-82. Bowling:
McGrath 11-3-27-1, Lee 6-2-13-0, Warne 15-2-43-3, Symonds 4-2-6-2, MacGill 6-4-4-0.
— AFP, AP |
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Fan ejected from MCG for racist taunts
Melbourne, December 29 Similar incidents at last week’s first Test in Perth led to Australian captain Ricky Ponting condemning the behaviour of some of the crowd towards the South African players. “A person was evicted yesterday for using racist and offensive language”, MCC chief executive Stephen Gough told ABC radio today. “I believe this is the first time this has happened at the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground).” A Melbourne Cricket Club spokesman said details of the latest incident had only emerged early today and the organisation would be seeking further information. The South African team complained last week about racial slurs and chants directed at Ashwell Prince, Garnett Kruger, Shaun Pollock, Justin Kemp and Makhaya Ntini during the third day’s play in the Perth Test. The tourists’ management sought extra security measures to help ensure no repetition of the abuse during the remaining two Tests in Melbourne and Sydney. — AFP |
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Picking Sourav a retrograde step: Waqar
Karachi, December 29 “I think the Indian selectors have taken a step back by picking Sourav because he is certainly not a player in form. I saw him batting in the New Delhi Test (against Sri Lanka) and he was clearly struggling to put bat to the ball” Younis said. “I don’t think you can select any player who is in such a bad form in his career. Somehow, he does not look like capable of scoring runs,” Younis, who played 87 Tests and 262 one-dayers for Pakistan, said. Younis said the Indian selectors had shown short sightedness and had also proved they could not think like the Australians. “The Australian selectors threw in three to four youngsters against South Africa instead of relying on big names. The teams are not built just on talent but how that talent is used and nurtured.” “The Indian team needs fresh legs and when you have a player as athletic, fit and confident like Mohammad Kaif, you need to throw him in the deep pan so that he can learn how to handle pressure,” Waqar said. “I am sure the Pakistanis must be happy to find Sourav in the team because there would be more pressure on the left-hander than what it was when he was making his debut”, Younis, who took 373 Test and 416 one-day wickets, opined. Shoaib can be deadly: Alam
VADODARA: Rejuvenated pacer Shoaib Akhtar will create problems for India on their tour of Pakistan next month, former Pakistani Test cricketer Intikhab Alam said here on Wednesday. Alam said it would be difficult for Indian batsmen to play against reborn Akhtar who has improved his technique and gave good performance against England.
— PTI |
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Shoaib can rock India, says Akram Karachi, December 29 “The advantage of pitches is with Pakistan, they have a transformed Shoaib Akhtar who can rock the Indians on hard pitches,” the former Pakistan captain told AFP. Shoaib, considered to be the world’s fastest bowler, took 17 wickets to help Pakistan beat favourites England 2-0 in a Test series early this month. “With his pace and accuracy, Shoaib can target any Indian batsman, and more so Sourav Ganguly,” said Akram, who took 414 Test wickets and a world record of 502 scalps in one-dayers. Former India captain Ganguly was selected for the series against Pakistan after his ouster in the last Test match of India’s home series against Sri Lanka created a public furore. Akram said Pakistan would have to play positive cricket to avenge the home series defeat it suffered when India last toured Pakistan in 2004, their first since 1989-90. India won the Test series 2-1 and the one-day series 3-2, their first wins on Pakistani soil since they started playing against their neighbours in 1952. Pakistan, however, salvaged some pride by levelling a three-Test series 1-1 and beating India 4-2 in the one-day series earlier this year. “Pakistan is better organised than a year ago and can avenge their 2004 home defeat, but for that they will have to play positive,” Akram said. The 39-year-old Akram, regarded as the best left-arm paceman to play the game, said Pakistan were better organised under English coach Bob Woolmer than India under Australian Greg Chappell. — AFP
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Indian delegation back from Pak
New Delhi, December 29 The delegation comprised Yashovardhan Azad, a senior police officer, BCCI Executive Secretary in charge Ratnakar Shetty, BCCI Media Committee member G. S. Walia and two government officials. The delegation will submit its assessment report to the Home Ministry shortly. India will leave for Pakistan on January 5. Venues switched
KARACHI: Pakistan has switched the venues for the first two one-day internationals against India in February for security reasons, the director of operations for the Pakistan Cricket Board Saleem Altaf said. Altaf said the first match would be played in Rawalpindi on February 6 and the second in Peshawar two days later. The first match was originally scheduled for Peshawar and the second for
Pindi. Altaf said police in Pindi had informed the board they did not have enough people to staff the match.
— PTI, Reuters |
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Spin India’s trump card: Harbhajan
Jalandhar, December 29 He said the Pakistan tour was as important for the team as the tours of Australia or England. The confidence level of both India and Pakistan was very high at the moment as India had recently defeated Sri Lanka while Pakistan had beaten England on their home soil. He said he was unable to take part in the last Indo-Pak series due to injury and would like to be part of the winning Indian team this time round. On the toughness of the contest, Harbhajan said the team which would be able to play the game with “controlled passion” would win. The Indian star said he was keen to repeat his performance against Sri Lanka in the forthcoming matches. On his superb spin combination with Anil Kumble, he said the success of the duo showed that spin was still the most potent weapon for Team India. He said the combination of leg spin and off spin was lethal. Delighted at taking 10 wickets in his 50th Test match, Harbhajan said wining the 2007 World Cup was his greatest wish. On Greg Chappell’s experiments, Harbhajan said the team has benefited from them, going by the winning spree. Asked if he would like to become the next all-rounder for the team after Irfan Pathan, Harbhajan said he would bat at whatever place the team wanted him to play. He was paying special attention to his batting, he said. He denied that he had any personal goals, adding that the team’s success was more important. |
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Indian eves crush Sri Lanka
Karachi, December 29 India, who beat Sri Lanka in the two-nation first Asia Cup in 2003, raced to 118-0 in 27.3 overs after bundling their opponents out for a meagre 115 in 48.5 overs. Hosts Pakistan, the third team competing in the double-league event, lost to Sri Lanka by 14 runs in the opening match yesterday. Off-spinner Nooshin Al-Khadeer (3-11) and leg-break bowler Reema Malhotra (3-31) rocked the Sri Lankans, who failed to build any partnership. Chamari Pologampola top-scored with 23. India finished runners-up to Australia in the World Cup early this year and are Asia’s top-ranked women’s team. Karuna Jain with 52 and Jaya Sharma 58 remained undefeated as India cruised to an easy win. India take on Pakistan tomorrow. All three teams face each other twice with the top two teams playing in the January 4 final. Pakistan is hosting its first international cricket event for women after the country’s cricket board formed a women’s section early this year.
— AFP |
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Sailaja, Edwin best lifters
Yamunanagar, December 29 Andhra Pradesh won the team championship trophy in the women’s category, while the SSCB lifted the trophy in the men’s section. The runners-up position (women) was secured by Manipur, while in the men’s category Maharashtra finished second. Results (in order of positions): Men: 105 kg plus: snatch: Shamsher Singh (Maharashtra) 155 kg; Gurminder Singh (Police) 150 kg and Vipin Kumar (Railways) 150 kg. Clean and jerk: G.Damodaran (SSCB) 190 kg; Gurminder Singh 190 kg and Samsher Singh (Maharashtra) 185 kg. Overall: Gurminder Singh 340 kg; Samsher Singh 340 kg; G.Damodaran (SSCB) 330 kg. Inter-state: Samsher Singh 340 kg; Sarabjit (Punjab) 323 kg; Shailendra Agrawal (Rajasthan) 305 kg. 105 kg: Sanjeev Nehra (Railways) 146 kg: snatch: M. Srinivas (Andhra Pradesh) 146 kg; Kuvinder Singh (Jammu and Kashmir) 141 kg. Clean and jerk: Bhatat Singh (Madhya Pradesh) 175 kg; Kulvinder Singh 169 kg; S.K Mavai (SSCB) 167 kg. Overall: Bhagat Singh 315 kg; Kulvinder Singh 310 kg; S.K Mavai 303 kg. Inter-state: Bhagat Singh 315 kg; Kulvinder Singh 310 kg; Sandeep Kumar (Uttaranchal) 297 kg. 94 kg: snatch: Nitu Sharma (Delhi) 145 kg; Pradeep Singh (Madhya Pradesh) 143 kg; T.K Pandian (Andhra Pardesh) 140 kg. Clean and jerk: Iqbab Singh (Arunachal Pradesh) 176 kg; Hargopal (Delhi) 175 kg; Nitu Sharma 174 kg. Overall: Nitu Sharma 319 kg. Women: 75 kg plus: snatch: Geeta Rani (Police) 96 kg; Sonia Prabha (Punjab) 90 kg; Romi Devi (Haryana) 86 kg. Clean and jerk: Simple Kaur (Chhattisgarh) 133 kg; Geetha Rai (Police) 132 kg; Romi Devi 115 kg. Overall: Geetha Rani 228 kg; Romi Devi 201 kg; Sonia Prabha 180 kg. |
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PSB, Indian Oil enter semis
New Delhi, December 29 In a see-saw battle, Punjab and Sind Bank, despite taking a 2-0 lead, found themselves struggling to stave off the Air India charge before sailing through with the help of a penalty-stroke conversion. Both teams put up a spirited fight, but the bank men, despite enjoying a slight territorial dominance, could open their account only in the 29th minute when Gurvinder Singh Chandi weaved his way through to strike the target. Two minutes after resumption, Navpreet Singh scored off a penalty corner to make it 2-0. Sanjay Yadav then pulled one back for Air India seven minutes later by converting a penalty corner while Rajesh Chauhan drew them level, scoring off a penalty corner. Then it was a struggle for supremacy, and the bank men breathed easy only when they were awarded a penalty stroke which was converted by Navpreet Singh in the 69th minute. Indian Oil were helped by a fine brace from Olympian Prabhjot Singh, who scored in the space of 14 minutes after resumption. After a barren first half, Deepak Thakur scored the first goal three minutes into the second session. Sunil Ekka and D Mahadik scored the goals for Army, with the latter scoring off a
penalty stroke. Indian Airlines will take on Namdhari XI, while Punjab and Sind Bank will clash with Indian Oil in the semifinals tomorrow. |
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EME win in Surjit hockey opener
Jalandhar, December 29 In the inaugural match of the day, players of EME and RCF exhibited good game play. Both teams frustrated each other’s attempts to score a goal till half time. In the second half, EME scored the breakthrough in the 40th minute as Jagtar Singh sounded the board. The RCF team struggled to equalise but failed to convert the penalty corners it got in the 53rd, 54th, 68th and 70th minutes of play. In the second match, Central Railway girls scored first goal in the 22nd minute as Reena Kanti converted a penalty corner. The Western Railway team failed to make penalty corner conversions in the 36th and 48th minutes. The equaliser for the Western Railway came in the 52nd minute by Pakwi Devi bringing her team at par. The Minister for Local Bodies, Punjab, Chowdhary Jagjit Singh, inaugurated the tournament. |
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NFL schedule not yet finalised
New Delhi, December 29 The 10th edition of the National Football League is on the anvil but the AIFF is no closer to finalising the schedule for the 10-team championship. The league was originally scheduled to start on January 7 but was likely to be postponed for a few days due to the concerns expressed by the participating teams or “certain other logistical problems”. But the date for the meeting where this decision would be taken is still undecided. “The meeting would be held some time in the first week of January, probably on the 4th or 5th,” a top official of the federation said. That this leaves hardly enough time for the teams to formulate strategies for the matches, which are bound to come thick and fast, seems to be not a major concern for them. Interestingly, AIFF Secretary Alberto Colaco was in the capital yesterday but the office-bearers’ meeting scheduled to finalise the details did not take place. This attitude, along with the problem pertaining to availability of venues in Kolkata, Goa and Mumbai due to various reasons, exposes the AIFF’s claims of professionalism and streamlining of the schedule. “Don’t worry, everything would be taken care of in due course. There is still enough time,” the Federation official said.
— PTI |
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Rohtak clinch badminton title
Rohtak, December 29 In the hockey semifinals played today, Sonepat beat Yamunanagar 3-0, while Kurukshetra defeated Gurgaon 1-0. In handball, Sonepat lost to Sirsa 10-20, while Bhiwani defeated Ambala 24-13. In volleyball, Mohindergarh got a walkover, while Sonepat defeated Jhajjar 25-23, 25-22, 25-23 to enter the final. In kabaddi, Rohtak and Panipat entered the final. Sirsa and Rohtak defeated Panchkula and Kurukshetra, respectively, to reach the final in table tennis. In athletics, Sanjay of Gurgaon clocked 11.75 seconds to finish first in 100m. Jaivir (Bhiwani) and Ashish (Rohtak) clocked 11.81 and 11.84 seconds, respectively, to secure second and third positions. In 400m, Surender (Jind), Praveen (Sonepat) and Rakesh (Bhiwani) got the first three positions. |
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Hari slips to second spot
Pamplona (Spain), December 29 The Indian split the point with Dutch GM Sergei Tiviakov, his fourth draw of the event. He now has four points out of a possible six. However, the drawn result did not help the Indian as far as the tournament standings were concerned as he lost his joint lead position to former world champion Ruslan Ponomariov of
Ukraine. — PTI |
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Weightlifting probables Yamunanagar, December 29 The probables: Titina Gopal (Police), Sandhya Rani (Manipur) and Kunju Rani Devi in 48 kg category; Chandresori (Haryana), H Saya Devi (Manipur), K Nirmala (Andhra Pradesh) and W. Nandini Devi (Manipur) in 58 kg category; Prasmita Manaraj (Police) and Renu Bala (Uttar Pardesh) in 58 kg category; B. Pramilla Valli (Andhra Pradesh) and P. Naritha (Andhra Pradesh) in 63 kg category. L Monica Devi (Police) and P. Sailaja (Andhar Pradesh) have been selected in the 69 kg and 75 kg categories, respectively. In the 75 kg plus category, Geeta Rani (Police) and Simple Kaur (Chhattisgarh) have been named.
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Wrestling
meet results Ambala,December 29 Results: (Under-16) 30-kg category, Chandan beat Ramakant, Mohit beat Chain Singh and Surjeet beat Chandan. In the 32-kg category, Ranveer beat Balinder. In the 34- kg category, Rahul beat Anish. In the 36-kg category, Gurdeep beat Sandeep. In the 45-kg category, Durga beat Jitender. In the 52-kg category, Rahul beat Suraj. (Under-18) 46-kg category, Deepak Bhola beat Mukesh. In the 58-kg category, Rajesh beat Ram Kumar. In the 54-kg category, Vicky beat Rinku and in the 69-kg category, Gurvinder beat Nikka.Senior group, in the 50-kg category, Shankar Yadav beat Satish. In the 54-kg category, Ravi beat Shivraj. In the 58-kg category, Balle Yadav beat Gulshan. In the 63-kg category, Mange Ram beat Ravi Beas, while Man Singh beat Raj Kumar. In the 69-kg category, Navin beat Manpreet. In the 76-kg category, Vijay Kumar beat Vijay Yadav, while Rakesh Kumar beat Sanjay. In the 85-kg category, Rajendra beat Channi. For Zila Kumar, first round, Vijay beat Kamal Dayal, while Sukhwinder beat Nek Singh. In the second round, Man Singh beat Manpreet Singh, while Sukhwinder beat Vijay. For Zila Kesari, first round, Ranbir beat Hitesh, Kartar Singh beat Channi, while Pradeep Kumar beat Gurdhyan. In the second round, Ranbir beat Rakesh Kumar, while Pradeep beat Kartar Singh.
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