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Ganguly ignored, Kaif retained
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Gillespie, Hayden may give nude shock
Abu Dhabi to host tri-series
List on sharing of live feeds released
Eves register wins at Fed Cup
Shiv Kapur tied 18th
Air-India, JCT play out goal-less draw
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Ganguly ignored, Kaif retained
Mumbai, April 20 The team is unchanged from the one that took on Pakistan in the two
one-dayers that ended at Abu Dhabi last night, which means that as many as nine of the players would be visiting the Caribbean for the first time. Captain Rahul Dravid, Harbhajan Singh Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Ajit Agarkar and Virender Sehwag have been there before. Dravid and coach Greg Chappell, immediately on their arrival today from Abu Dhabi, where India shared the series 1-1, joined the five selectors in picking the team that includes newcomers Robin
Uthappa, Venugopala Rao, Munaf Patel and Rudra Pratap Singh. Chief selector Kiran More said Tendulkar, who is recovering after a shoulder operation, was not included on the basis of team physio John Gloster’s report to the board. “Gloster will meet Tendulkar today and assess his progress. A clear picture on his availability for the Test series will be known later,” More said. Speculation over Ganguly making a comeback proved to be just that with the former skipper, who has been uncharacteristically quiet for the last few weeks, finding himself in the sidelines again. More, however, said that all players were in contention for the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean. “Whoever performs well in the domestic championships will be eligible for selection. The performance of India ‘A’ players will also be taken into account,” the former India stumper said. On Kaif’s inclusion, More said the Uttar Pradesh batsman’s past performance was given weightage. “We all decided that we should back Kaif. His past record is good and he’s an outstanding fielder too. Yes, his form is worrying. Even Virender Sehwag had a form slump but played a brilliant innings of 73 yesterday (against Pakistan at Abu Dhabi),” More said. More sounded very pleased with the team’s performance in the season that has brought it 18 wins in 24 matches. The team for the four-Test series commencing June 2 would be chosen after the third ODI on May 23 at St Kitts, BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah said. Shah told PTI later that Test opener Wasim Jaffer, who under went a shin surgery last week, was also being monitored. More described the tour of the Caribbean where India have not won a Test or one-day rubber since 1971 was a very important one considering that the West Indies were to host the World Cup in March-April, 2007. More said that the amount of cricket the team would be playing from now till the World Cup would be beneficial for the team and not detrimental. More expressed confidence that young Punjab pacer Vikram Rajvir Singh would come good in the future after being caned in the seventh and last ODI against England at Indore. On the continued omission of Anil Kumble, the only Indian bowler in the 500-Test wicket club, for ODIs, More said: “He’s our main bowler (in Tests). When we need him we will definitely call him (into the ODI team)”. Squad: Rahul Dravid (captain), Virender Sehwag (vice-captain), Robin
Uthappa, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Suresh Raina, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Irfan Pathan, Venugopala Rao, Munaf Patel, S
Sreesanth, Harbhajan Singh, Ajit Agarkar, Ramesh Powar, Rudra Pratap Singh. No camp ahead of tour
The Indian team would not have the customary conditioning camp ahead of an overseas visit and the players would assemble here on May 10 before departing for the West Indies the next day. “The players would assemble in Mumbai on May 10 and then leave on May 11 night,” Indian cricket board secretary Niranjan Shah said. Coach Greg Chappell is to go to his home country Australia in the intervening period before the team’s departure for the Caribbean islands, a board source said.
— PTI |
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Australia feast on minnows
Chittagong, April 20 Warne finished with 5-113 and MacGill grabbed 4-95 to trigger a familiar Bangladesh collapse after the home side resumed on 195-4, chasing 384 to make Australia bat again. Bangladesh were bowled out for 304, with Warne claiming his 36th haul of five or more wickets in 140 Tests, as Australia reaffirmed their class after a narrow three-wicket in the opening Test. The 36-year-old, who had taken three wickets yesterday, bagged the important scalp of Shahriar Nafees (79) before MacGill joined him in finishing off the home side. Warne, who struggled in the first match with a sore shoulder, finished with eight wickets in the match after bagging three in the first innings. The only time the world’s most successful Test bowler was in trouble was when left-handed all-rounder Mohammad Rafique (65) went after him to clobber some huge boundaries. Rafique took three sixes off Warne and as many off MacGill during his cameo 53-ball knock. But his heroics came too late as Bangladesh were already nine down when he decided to open his shoulders. Scoreboard Bangladesh (1st innings) 197 Australia (1st innings) 581-4 dec Bangladesh (2nd innings) Omar lbw Lee 19 Nafees c Gilchrist b Warne 79 Bashar c Hayden b Warne 49 Saleh c Ponting b Warne 5 Ashraful b Warne 29 Ahmed c Gilchrist b MacGill 18 Mashud lbw MacGill 11 Rafique c Warne b MacGill 65 Mortaza c Gillespie b Warne 1 Razzak c Ponting b MacGill 0 Hossain not out 3 Extras
(b-7, lb-11, w-2, nb-5) 25 Total (all out, 80.2 overs) 304 Fall of wickets:
1-25, 2-127, 3-137, 4-187, 5-201, 6-229, 7-230, 8-233, 9-235. Bowling:
Lee 11-3-35-1, Gillespie 4-0-14-0, Warne 36-4-113-5, MacGill 22.2-3-95-4, Cullen 7-0-29-0. —
AFP |
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Gillespie, Hayden may give nude shock
Melbourne, April 20 “Hayden reckons if I got to 200 he would do a nude lap of the oval. I don’t know if he will actually do it, may be at the end of the game,” Gillespie was quoted as saying by AAP today. “I was getting a massage last night by Lucy, our (team) masseuse, and she mentioned 200. I said, ‘I am 102, there is no way I’d get it’. I mentioned I would do a nude lap too, if I got there.” However, the fact that the series was being played in a conservative Muslim country might discourage the duo from doing the bold act. Mike Hussey, who himself belted 182, said Hayden’s comments had handed the pair motivation to press on today as they put 320 for the fourth wicket.
— PTI |
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Abu Dhabi to host tri-series
Abu Dhabi, April 20 ADCC President B R Shetty said the successful staging of the DLF Cup had impressed the ICC bosses and the Indian and Pakistan cricket boards who were willing to come here on a regular basis to play at this desert venue. “The ICC is happy, both boards have also given the green signal. We are planning to host a tri-nation tournament in September-October, the modalities of which will be worked out soon,” Shetty told reporters. “We will also be hosting the Eurasia Cup (a six-nation tourney featuring A teams) and another tournament at the start of 2007, so we think we are going on the right track.” While apologising for the organisational lapses during the first match yesterday which saw dignitaries like Sharad Pawar and Praful Patel ending up at the receiving end of some overzealous security personnel, Shetty said some consideration must be given to the fact that they were hosting the first ever international. “It is just the beginning, we will make mistakes but we are ready to own up and ensure such things do not happen again,” Shetty said. “Pawar understood that the problems were due to heightened security, he is not angry. In fact he has promised more India-Pakistan matches here in the future. “Everyone has appreciated and congratulated us for hosting this tournament. For cricket to get such prominence in a football-playing country, it has been commended.” On concerns about the wicket being overused and worn out, he said, “the wicket is fantastic. If you can’t play, don’t blame the wicket.” The wicket at the stadium has hosted nearly 100 local league matches but the curators, under the supervision of ICC pitch consultant Andy Atkinson, have worked hard to keep it in good shape for international fixtures. — PTI
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List on sharing of live feeds released
New Delhi, April 20 The Prasar Bharati statement said the government had released a list of sports events and thus joined the league of Australia, United Kingdom, Italy and other members of the European Union “...who follow a similar guideline to ensure that all sporting events of national importance are made available to public in a free-to-air mode, ideally through the public service broadcasting platform.” The government communication covers tennis, hockey, football, chess, and snooker and billiards, while cricket finds its place in the downlinking guidelines. The list of sports has been drawn by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry after consultations with the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Prasar Bharati and the sports channel and sports rights holders companies, the statement added. The list will be valid for five years and will be subject to review annually, it said. Listed international events include the Olympics (summer and winter), Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and Afro-Asian Games.
— UNI |
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Eves register wins at Fed Cup
New Delhi, April 20 After Isha Lakhani and Ankita Bhambri won their singles for a 2-0 mowing of Philippines, Shikha Uberoi and Sania Mirza stepped up to thrash Chinese Taipei for an identical scoreline in the second match in Group 1. India take on New Zealand in their final pool engagement tomorrow and a win there would pit them in the final on Saturday probably against Australia who were looking to top Pool A. The winner of the final goes through to a July play-off for the World Group 2 of the women’s team tennis competition. India had originally nominated Sania and Shikha to play against Philippines, but were forced to change the nominations after the tie was washed out by rains yesterday. Yet, Isha and Ankita, ranked 364 and 338 respectively, proved to be too good for 16-year old Denise Dy and Czarina-Mae Arevalo. Isha faced some late resistance by 1112-nd ranked Dy before prevailing 6-0, 7-6 to put India 1-0 up. Ankita then grappled with some rough form on the slow outdoor hard courts for a 6-4, 6-7, 6-2 win over Arevalo and double India’s lead. Captain Enrico Piperno had preserved Sania, who was carrying multiple injuries including a hyperextension of the lower back, as also Shikha for the tie against Chinese Taipei. Shikha, world number 183, bounced back from a first set deficit to beat Yung-Jan Chan (173) 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the first singles. Sania, the highest ranked Indian woman ever at 40 on the WTA Tour, then subdued 128th ranked Su-Wei Hsieh 6-4 7-6 (4) in the second rubber.
— PTI |
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Mahesh-Radek beat Paes-Damm
New Delhi, April 20 |
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Vinod closes in on Mukesh
Chandigarh, April 20 Mukesh Kumar added a two-under 70 to his overnight 11-under for a three-day total of 13-under par. Vinod Kumar submitted a blemish-less card of five-under 67 to lie in the second position. Uttam Singh Mundy was third at nine-under 207 while veterans Vijay Kumar and Feroz Ali were tied for the fourth position at eight-under 208. Mohammed Salim and Rohit Chaudhary shared the sixth position at five-under 211. Last week’s winner Shamim Khan and Digvijay Singh were tied for eighth position at 212 while local challenger Ranjit Singh and Arjun Singh shared the 10 th spot. Mukesh Kumar did not have the best of starts as after a par on the opening hole. After hitting to the right, the 39-year-old hit out-of-bounds on his second shot and ended up with a bogey, which he quickly recovered with a birdie on the fifth. Two more bogeys on the sixth and ninth, courtesy his inaccurate approach shots, both times from the green side bunkers. But that was the end of his mistakes as he now changed into attack mode after being passive on his front nine. “I was being over-defensive and paid the penalty,” said Mukesh after the round. The No.1 player on the Amby Valley PGAI Tour then made consecutive birdies on the 12th and 13th, missing an eagle on the latter. With two more birdies on the 15th and 16th, once again missing an eagle on the 16th, Mukesh was back into the lead after Vinod had restored parity after the 11th hole. Mukesh could have had a four-stroke lead had he not missed small putts for birdie on the 17th and 18th. “They were bad misses. There was nothing wrong about the greens, in fact there are in the best condition that I have played on this course, said Mukesh. “Apart from Vinod, I feel a threat from Feroz (Ali) and Vijay (Kumar) who both are experienced players,” admitted Mukesh. Vinod Kumar played some steady golf making two birdies on the second and sixth on his front nine. Though he was putting superbly, he was unlucky on a number of occasions where his ball lipped out. On the par-5 13th, Vinod’s chip hit the flagstick and he missed out on an eagle but still made a birdie. He saved one more stroke on the next par-5 16th. With a perfect wedge-shot he was in line for a regulation birdie, which he duly made to submit a bogey-free card of 67. Uttam Singh Mundy made a bogey and a birdie to be level par on the front nine but made back to back birdies on the 17th and 18th to stay in contention. Meanwhile, there was a tough fight for the Amateur title with both the leading amateurs of the country — Rahul Bakshi and Ganagjeet Bhullar tied for the 25 th spot overall at two-over 218. Top scores after 54 holes (Pro): 203 Mukesh Kumar (68, 65, 70); 205 Vinod Kumar (67, 71, 67); 207 Uttam Singh Mundy (67, 70, 70); 208 Vijay Kumar (73, 66, 69), Feroz Ali (68, 71, 69); 211 Mohd. Salim (70, 71, 70), Rohit Chaudhary (68, 71, 72); 212 Shamim Khan (70, 71, 71), Digvijay Singh (73, 67, 72); 213 Ranjit Singh (69, 70, 74), Arjun Singh (68, 70, 75); 214 AS Lehal (70, 73, 71), Pappan (69,74,71), Amardip Malik (70, 72, 72), C Muniyappa (69, 72, 73 Amateurs: 218 Gaganjeet Bhullar (72, 76, 70), Rahul Bakshi (74, 71, 73); 220 H.S. Kang (74, 75, 71). |
Shiv Kapur tied 18th
Shanghai, April 20 It was not a very good day for other Indians, as Amandeep Johl not only went three-over for the day, but was also left without his wife and caddie,
Hardavin, for the rest of the week. She was hit hard on the left hand by a shank from a fellow player and had to be taken to a hospital for an X-ray, which fortunately revealed no breakage. Johl had just one birdie on the 16th and four bogeys and was tied 91st. Gaurav Ghei (76 and tied 110th), Rahil Gangjee (77 and tied 126th) and Harmeet Kahlon (78 and 137th) were all left with a lot of catching up to do in the second round to make the cut.
— PTI |
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Air-India, JCT play out goal-less draw
Mumbai, April 20 The draw left both teams level on 14 points from 13 matches, though the millmen hold a better goal difference. Air-India’s Nigerian import Bashiru Ahmed Abbas came close to finding the mark twice in the match. In the 20th minute, he kicked the ball wide after collecting a long throw-in from Uttam Singh. Sixteen minutes later, he was about to pounce on a loose ball after JCT custodian Kalyan Choube misjudged the bounce, but an alert Narendar Singh made a timely clearance before Bashiru could latch on to it. JCT had one clear look at the rival goal when Brazilian Marcos Pereira essayed a snap shot, but Air-India goalkeeper Raju Ekka proved equal to the task.
— PTI |
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Indian cricket team arrives in Mumbai. (
