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Tough decisions confront India
When Irfan met Irfan
Haryana eye first innings lead
Kapil’s name clinched the issue for
Anurag Thakur
Harper is new Kenya coach
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Corps of Signals, PSB in final
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Tough decisions confront India
Lahore, January 11 Skipper Rahul Dravid dodged a question from the media over the inclusion of his predecessor in the Test yesterday, but a firm stand on the contentious issue cannot be postponed forever. The arrival later tonight of Bhupinder Singh Sr, one of the members of the five-man selection committee which took the controversial decision of first axing Ganguly for the Ahmedabad Test against Sri Lanka and then, in a volte face, recalling him for the Pakistan tour, should be a big help to the tour management. Selection panel chief Kiran More, while talking to the media after the team announcement in Mumbai, had clearly stated that inclusion in the 16-strong squad did not guarantee anyone the right to expect automatic inclusion in the playing eleven. “That will be decided by captain (Dravid), coach (Greg Chappell), team manager (Raj Singh Dungarpur) and the selector who will be there (Bhupinder Singh Sr),” More had
said. Ganguly did not play in the three-day warm-up tour match against Pakistan A, after being asked by the selectors to take part in the sixth round of Ranji Trophy against Tamil Nadu before joining the team on January 7 along with vice-captain Virender Sehwag, leg-spinner Anil Kumble and second wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel. The other major problem the tour selectors are confronted with is the choice of the opener to partner Sehwag in the Test. The choice is between Mumbai’s in-form Wasim Jaffer, recalled to the national team after a three-year gap, and Delhi left-hander Gautam Gambhir who flopped in the last series at home against the Sri Lankans. Both scored fifties in the first innings against Pakistan ‘A’, with Gambhir’s being the more stroke-filled one, and then remained unbeaten in the second innings of the drawn match with Jaffer excelling in his back-foot punches to the covers while the former was dropped twice before opening his account, struggled a bit later before settling down. In bowling, both Zaheer Khan and Rudra Pratap Singh struggled to get their rhythm going on the second day of the match against Pakistan A, but bowled better on the third morning. The playing surface and the weather would determine whether India field three pace bowlers. It is here that the team gets the extra option in including Ganguly as a third seam bowler-cum-middle-order batsman and the player was seen bowling in the nets here last evening. Finally, the selectors’ description of the former India skipper as a batting all-rounder when he was chosen for the Delhi Test against Sri Lanka might turn out to be true. — PTI |
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When Irfan met Irfan
Lahore, January 11 The Baroda left arm seamer was deeply touched when he met with his namesake, a two-year old inmate of Imran Khan’s Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer
Hospital today. The little Irfan might not have grasped the significance of his VIP guest, but it only added to the sentimentality of the situation. It was a similarly moving experience for the rest of the Indian cricket team members who visited the hospital, set up in the memory of Pakistani all-rounder’s mother. The modern hospital treats 70 per cent of the persons free of charge. Among those the cricketers met were a young woman cured of the disease but with an artificial leg. “I am cured and I want to run,” she told the cricketers. Imran thanked the Indian cricketers for accepting his invitation and said with a smile, “I wish the Indian team an enjoyable tour, but of course not a successful one. You can expect great hospitality from everyone except from the Pakistan players.” Imran also introduced Sachin Tendulkar to some staff members saying “he is the only survivor of the 1989 tour to Pakistan when it played a charity match for raising funds for the hospital.” Tendulkar made both
his ODI and Test debut on that tour. Captain Rahul Dravid was given a glass trophy as a memento for the team by the former Pakistan captain. All the players were given wrist bands saying “Fight Cancer In Pakistan.” Indian team manager Raj Singh Dungarpur, who also visited the hospital, said the team had made a good decision on accepting the invitation from Imran and said the cricketer-turned-politician has done a great job.
— PTI |
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Haryana eye first innings lead
New Delhi, January 11 At stumps, Siddharth Verma (36) and allrounder Joginder Sharma (32) were in the crease as Haryana trail by 20 runs with four wickets remaining in the first innings. Earlier, resuming on their overnight score of 226 for five, mad rush and poor shot selection saw lower half of the Services batting line-up perishing adding a mere 15 runs to their overnight score in just 6.2 overs. Haryana did not have a great start either as stumper-opener M Rawat (8) misread a Fazil Mohammed delivery to be caught plumb in front and Pankaj Kumar removed D. Joon(4) in similar fashion to leave Haryana at 29 for two. Sumit Sharma (25) and Shafiq Khan (27) stemmed the rot but both departed in quick succession to leave Haryana tottering at 77 for four. Pardeep Sahu (11) also did not last long but Sachin Rana (59) and Siddharth Verma (32) steadied the ship and put on 56 runs for the sixth wicket before Rana perished caught behind off Amrinder Singh. His 59-run knock came off 162 balls and included seven hits to the fence. — UNI |
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Kapil’s name clinched the issue for Anurag Thakur
Chandigarh, January 11 Ever since HP Sports (Registration, Recognition and Regulation) Act 2005 was passed by the state government, the HPCA led by Anurag Thakur was at the receiving end. Under Thakur’s charge, HP cricket had started showing definite signs of resurgence. But in his absence, the team performance again started slipping to abysmal level. Matters, in the meantime, were dragged to courts to wrest control of the state association. The HPCA led by Anurag Thakur found a surprising ally in former India skipper Kapil Dev when the matter came up for hearing in the high court yesterday. The peerless cricketer had emerged the saviour for the country on the field on numerous occasions in the past. But the legendary all rounder’s name was enough to tilt the balance towards Anurag Thakur. As debate was on in the court regarding the poor performance of the Himachal cricket team in the current Ranji Trophy championship, it was suggested that some observer or a similar body should be appointed to oversee the team selection so as to stop the continuing slide in team performance The counsel for Anurag Thakur suggested that some eminent cricketer or the Delhi District Cricket Association by virtue of being the zonal convener be appointed in observatory capacity to oversee the team selection. Even the name of Mohinder Amarnath figured during the discussions. But all this was reportedly not agreeable to the other association. The name of Kapil Dev was then suggested by the Thakur side. When opposed by the rival faction, the judges found it surprising and gave their verdict, staying the registration of the association led by Zar. The high court had earlier passed an interim order on May 18, 2005, in favour of the Anurag Thakur-led association and directed the state not to take any penal action against the association. But Anurag said that despite the order, the state government had stopped the HPCA from using various grounds for state and national-level matches. Now the high court order means Anurag back at the helm. This is likely to result in an overhaul of the team composition. Mr Anurag Thakur lamented that all his efforts to build a good team had been nullified on account of drastic changes made in the team which suffered humiliating losses in the previous matches against lowly teams such as Orissa and Tripura. “Players who had not played for the district for three years were included in the team,” he said. “We started the season on a rousing note, scoring an outright win against Vidharbha. Unfortunately, the winning combination was disturbed and the result is there for all to see,” he said. “The team was in a terrific form last year and reached the semifinals of the Plate group. Even in semifinals, we were unfortunate losing on account of spin of coin as heavy downpour had washed out the match,” Anurag revealed. |
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Harper is new Kenya coach
Nairobi, January 11 “He’s a player of good technical skills,” Kenya Cricket Association chairman Samir Inamdar said. He said Harper beat five other candidates in the selection process started last year following the sudden departure of former coach Andy Moles in March, 2005.
— AFP |
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Veerans thrash Imphal Rangers
Chandigarh, January 11 Veerans dominated the proceedings through their forwards Raja and Adam Sinclair working in tandem in the frontline. Adam Sinclair opened the account for Veerans in the 15th minute. Following a move on the right flank, Vikram Kanth sent a fierce cross into the goalmouth and Gurbaj`s shot was blocked by Rangers` custodian Herojit Singh. However, Raja, who was lurking around, sent home the rebound with a stinging reverse hit. Early in the second quarter, Rangers restored parity when a goal-bound Brojen Singh was stick-checked by Chennai defender Sivabalan and umpire Haider Rasool pointed to the penalty spot. Star striker Brojen Singh made no mistake in netting the ball. Veerans earned three short corners in the 29th, 48th and 69th minutes and Raghunath displayed his superior skills and converted all three short corners with his powerful drag flicks. In the 41st minute, Raja who was well poised to strike was stick-checked by Rangers goalie Herojit and umpire Rasool had no hesitation in awarding a stroke. Vikram Kanth made no mistake and sealed the victory for the team just ahead the end of the match. Big win for Orissa Steelers
Strong contenders Orissa Steelers hushed and puffed the challenge of Lucknow Nawabs to post a 6-1 victory in a Tier II match of the PHL-II at the Sector 42 Hockey Stadium today. Lucknow Nawabs earned two successive short corners in the first three minutes but failed to utilize them. However, with an effective frontline led by Sunil Ekka and Rajesh Chouhan in combination with Bruno Hadrian, Birendra Lakra and Roshan Minz, Orissa Steelers weaved precise web upfront to harass the Nawabs’ defence. They drew the first blood in the very sixth minute when skipper Sunil Ekka made the best use of a defence-splitting cross from Bruno to score the goal. Early in the second quarter, Nawabs goal keeper Raziuddin made a good save off at Virendra Lakra’s hit but Orissa increased the margin in the 25th minute through Sushil Tete, who received the ball just outside the circle and stepped in to bang the boards. Within two minutes, Nawabs initiated a move on the right flank and Cyril Ekka after moving down to the right corner of the field sent in a sizzling centre and there ensued a clash in the goalmouth. With Steelers goalie Gurpreet Singh lying on the ground, Nawabs’ Hamza Mujtaba got the ball behind him and he just tapped it into an open goal. In the 42nd minute, Orissa failed to succeed from their second penalty corner with Nawabs` first runner thwarting Kuldeep Singh. But the ball came back into the circle and Inder Singh Salaria attempted to net the goal. The ball rebounded off goalkeeper Raziuddin`s pads and this time Bruno sounded the boards to make it 3-1. In the 60th minute, Sunil Ekka made it 4-1 with a hit from the top of the D and two minutes later, Rajesh Chouhan added one more from the team’s third and last penalty corner. Just a minute before the hooter, Birender Lakra rounded off the tally to make it 6-1. Steelers have earned seven points till now while Nawabs are yet to open their account. |
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Corps of Signals, PSB in final
Nabha, January 11 Corps of Signals rolled their way into the final by charting out an emphatic 3-1 win against SRC, Ramgarh, while PSB, whose custodian Rupinder Singh did a great job in the tie-breaker, downed Punjab Police 4-2 to make their maiden appearance in the final. Signals started with a flourish and earned four penalty corners in the first quarter. However, all chances went abegging mainly due to the expertise of custodian Jaspal Singh, whose diving save off the fourth attempt brought much applause from the crowd. Signals went ahead in the ninth minute when striker Sunil Lakra was deliberately fouled in the striking circle. The umpire had no hesitation in signalling a penalty corner which was converted with a flourish by Nabin Lakra whose rasping drive sounded the board. The SRC players went into an overdrive and used some aggressive tactics in an attempt to blunt the rival strikers. Some rough tactics were also used by both SRC and Signals but umpires Jaspreet Singh and Arun Garg did well to control the game after they flashed a couple of yellow and green cards to players of both teams. SRC struck against the run of play when defender Harwinder Singh, who as a right full-back did a fine job for his team, notched up the equaliser off a penalty corner. However, after this effort the SRC players ran out of steam and started playing a disjointed game. Towards the end of the second half, Signals scored through N.Salaria and S.K. Tigga. Tigga closed out the match at 3-1 with a goal scored of an acute angle. Punjab Police started aggressively and went into the lead when Amit Sandhu passed the ball to an unmarked Kulbir Singh (Senior) who deflected the ball home between the pads of custodian Rupinder Singh, who barring this blemish, had an outstanding day under the bar. The PSB lads equalised soon after through Kishen Singh, sending the contest into the tie-breaker where the PSB custodian stood out by blocking the first three attempts of the cops. |
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Haas stuns Federer
Melbourne, January 11 World number three Andy Roddick kept his chances alive with a comfortable 6-2, 6-2 victory over French teenager Gaels Monfil. The 26-year-old Haas broke Federer twice in the third set and served out the final game to run out a winner under overcast skies and cool temperatures in suburban Melbourne. Federer appeared to struggle with his timing, hitting several forehands either long or wide, while Haas scrambled for nearly every point, often producing spectacular running passing shots. “I struggled for rhythm in the beginning in the first six games or so, but then I broke him twice and won the set and I think he was struggling early on. I think my last couple of years my first round at Kooyong has always been a struggle.” Haas, who has beaten Federer each of the three times they have met in Australia, said the victory would help him heading into next week’s Australian Open. “I’m very happy with the game,” said Haas. “This is definitely a good victory, not only for my own confidence but the game and gives me good hopes to play next week.” The eight-player tournament is one of the traditional warm-up events for the Australian Open starting in Melbourne on January 15.
— Reuters |
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Rastogi replaces Mankad in Davis Cup squad
New Delhi, January 11 The Davis Cup squad, with Leander Paes as playing captain, for the Asia-Oceania Group 1 tie to be played at the Changwon Municipal Tennis Courts from 10-12 February 2006 in Korea, included Mahesh Bhupathi, Prakash Amritraj and Rohan Bopanna as members and Rastogi as reserve player. Nandan Bal would be
the coach. The selectors also named Sania and Shikha Uberoi in the Fed Cup team for the Asia-Oceania Group 1 zonals to be played in Seoul, Korea, in the week of April 17. Davis Cup team:
Leander Paes (playing captain), Mahesh Bhupathi, Prakash Amritraj and Rohan Bhopanna. Reserve: Karan Rastogi; Coach: Nandal Bal. Fed Cup team: Sania Mirza and Shikha Uberoi. Probables: Rushmi Chakravarthy, Ankita Bhambri, Sanaa Bhambri, Isha Lakhani, Poonam Reddy and Parul Gosawami. |
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Chandigarh, January 11
