S P O R T S

Windies blow away India
Port of Spain, May 27
The billion-dollar bubble of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is in danger of bursting. The West Indies, governed in contrast by a loss-making board, took an unassailable 3-1 lead by inflicting a convincing six-wicket defeat on India here at Queen’s Park Oval yesterday.

West Indies captain Brian Lara (left) and Dwayne Bravo celebrate the series-clinching victory over India in the fourth one-dayer at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain on Friday. — AP/PTI photo

We made Chappell eat his words: Lara
Port of Spain, May 27
West Indian captain Brian Lara said the sly remark by Indian coach Greg Chappell that his side had forgotten how to win acted as a catalyst for them in clinching the one-day series here yesterday.

Ganguly aims to perform well at Northamptonshire. (28k, 56k)

India to play for pride
Port of Spain, May 27
A subdued but not shattered Indian cricket squad attended a reception hosted by the Indian High Commissioner last evening.

India slip in ODI rankings
Dubai, May 27
India paid a heavy price for their series defeat against the West Indies as they dropped two places to fifth in the latest ICC ODI rankings. Brian Lara’s team inflicted a 3-1 series loss on their fancied rivals after beating the visitors by six wickets at Port of Spain yesterday.

Giant-killer Saina enters final
New Delhi, May 27
Teenage badminton prodigy Saina Nehwal continued with her sensational form to topple Ai Goto of Japan and reach the women’s singles final of the Philippines Open at Pasig City, Manila, today.

Chhattisgarh boys, girls score wins
Ludhiana, May 27
Holders Chhattisgarh began their campaign on strong foot scoring emphatic victories in the boys as well as the girls section on the first day of the 57th Dhanoa Junior National Basketball Championship, which started at Guru Nanak Sports Complex here today.

A fan runs onto the pitch to embrace Brazilian striker Ronaldinho (L) during a training session at Thermoplan Arena in Weggis, Switzerland, on Friday. — Reuters

Chandigarh to face Uttaranchal in final
Panchkula, May 27
Hot favourites Chandigarh will take on strong contenders Uttaranchal in the final of the National Twenty20 Cricket Championship for the Swift Cup being played at the Tau Devi Lal Sports Complex, Sector 3.

Indian shooters off target
New Delhi, May 27
Indian shooters disappointed for the fourth successive day at the ISSF World Cup in Munich, Germany, as Pemba Tamang and Vijay Kumar failed to qualify for the finals of the men’s 25m rapid fire pistol event.

Bhutia declared NFL’s best player
Mumbai, May 27
Despite being pipped by Dempo’s Ranty Martins in the NFL goal-scoring charts, Baichung Bhutia has been adjudged the best player of the 10th ONGC National Football League.

JCT, BSF in soccer final
Chandigarh, May 27
BSF, Jalandhar, and JCT Mills, Phagwara, moved into the final of the second Nawab Sher Mohammed Khan Memorial Seven-a-Side Football Tournament at Malerkotla’s Dr Zakir Hussain Stadium last night.

Windies blow away India
Ashis Ray

Port of Spain, May 27
The billion-dollar bubble of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is in danger of bursting. The West Indies, governed in contrast by a loss-making board, took an unassailable 3-1 lead by inflicting a convincing six-wicket defeat on India here at Queen’s Park Oval yesterday. It’s a wake-up call for India, as they will be playing in the World Cup next year in these conditions.

After India demonstrated that they had all but forgotten how to bat by posting a pathetic 217 for 7 on a pitch which had at least another 50 runs in it, 37-year-old Brian Lara unfolded a sheet anchor innings of 67 off 97 balls — his 59th fifty — to slam the door on India. At the finish, the under-rated but irrepressible Dwayne Bravo was unbeaten on 61, his first ODI fifty.

Chris Gayle got off to a flying start, pulling Sreesanth to midwicket for a six. But he perished skying Ramesh Powar into the hands of long-off. Lara and Bravo put up a match-winning 91-run stand for the fourth wicket to crush Indian hopes. Lara, after hitting Harbhajan Singh for two fours and a six in his last over, holed out at long-off attempting to mete out a similar treatment to Powar. Bravo, though, bludgeoned the Mumbai off-spinner over his head towards the sightscreen.

Earlier, Bravo’s change of pace was rewarded with three wickets — two of them in one over — to deservedly fetch him the man-of-the-match award.

Inexplicably, India were troubled not only by the West Indian seamers but also by off-break bowlers Marlon Samuels and Gayle.

Only a 70-run fourth-wicket partnership between Yuvraj Singh and Mohammed Kaif, who got their 25th and 17th fifties, respectively, and some fireworks from Mahendra Dhoni in the last five overs helped the tourists cross the 200-run mark. Even the Jharkhand stalwart, who had more than 17 overs to give vent to his aggressive tendencies, struggled.

A sumptuous drive by Yuvraj through midwicket brought even hardcore West Indian supporters to their feet. Then Kaif swivelled around to perfectly pull the fastest of the opposition bowlers, Fidel Edwards, to the square-leg boundary. But Edwards beat the left-hander with a lifting off-cutter, while Kaif played all over Bravo.

Scoreboard

India

Sehwag c Gayle b Bradshaw 11

Dravid c Sarwan b Collymore 15

Raina c Sarwan b Bradshaw 7

Yuvraj c Baugh b Edwards 52

Kaif b Bravo 62

Dhoni not out 46

Pathan c Collymore b Bravo 8

Agarkar b Bravo 0

Powar not out 0

Extras (lb-5, w-10, nb-1) 16

Total (7 wickets, 50 overs) 217

Fall of wickets: 1-13, 2-28, 3-47, 4-126, 5-187, 6-205, 7-205.

Bowling: Edwards 8-1-19-1, Bradshaw 10-0-41-2, Collymore 9-2-49-1, Bravo 5-0-32-3, Gayle 6- 0-28-0, Samuels 10-1-37-0, Smith 2-0-6-0.

West Indies

Gayle c Agarkar b Powar 46

Samuels lbw Pathan 9

Sarwan c Sehwag b Agarkar 6

Lara c Raina b Powar 69

Bravo not out 61

Hinds not out 13

Extras (lb-5, w-8, nb-1) 14

Total (4 wickets, 44 overs) 218

Fall of wickets: 1-28, 2-49, 3-91, 4-182.

Bowling: Pathan 5-0-32-1, Sreesanth 9-1-39-0, Agarkar 8-1-24-1, Harbhajan 10-1-42-0, Powar 9-0-56-2, Yuvraj 2-0-10-0, Raina 1-0-10-0. 

We made Chappell eat his words: Lara

Port of Spain, May 27
West Indian captain Brian Lara said the sly remark by Indian coach Greg Chappell that his side had forgotten how to win acted as a catalyst for them in clinching the one-day series here yesterday.

“It was a very sly remark. After the first match, the guys took notice of the statement and we turned the tables,” said Lara, basking in a rare series win for his side in front of his home crowd.

After India secured a win in the first game at Kingston, Jamaica, Chappell, had suggested that the West Indies had forgotten how to win.

“He might have been right, be he has not been right for the last week or so. It’s nice to know that the guys have proved him wrong,” the Trinidadian said.

Lara felt India were hurt by the absence of their senior batsman Sachin Tendulkar.

“If Tendulkar was here, it would have meant Rahul Dravid moving down the order. It made a bit of difference. But I still feel if we played the same way, we could have been in the same position even if Tendulkar had come.”

He disclosed that his squad had worked on every Indian player at team meetings but the key was to execute it well in the middle.

“We worked on every Indian player, we discussed it thoroughly, their strength and weaknesses.”

“At the team meeting (of one and a half hours) before this match, I told the boys India have their backs to the walls and they would be desperate to win.

“They would rely on their key players to perform. If we could nullify that and make a contribution from 11 of us, we can make a difference,” Lara said.

Lara said Ramnaresh Sarwan’s 98 in the second match was the defining moment of the series and not the delivery with which Dwayne Bravo cleaned up Yuvraj Singh.

“If I felt that was the crucial ball, I would have been very upset with the first two (which were hit for fours by Yuvraj).

“But I think the 98 by Sarwan gave us a lifeline. It was the most important performance of the series. Looking back at it, we could have been out for 100 or 150. Then there would have been no opportunity.”

Lara believed his side would still have produced the same result even if he had not been around and leading the side.

“I think if anyone had captained the side, he would have produced the same result.

“In New Zealand, I remember stating that we must look to grab every opportunity. But we didn’t do it.

“In a way, winning that last one-day game against New Zealand set the tone for us,” he said.

Batsmen let us down: Dravid

Captain Rahul Dravid said India’s defeat in the second match at Kingston handed the advantage to the West Indies and blamed the batsmen for the side’s first ODI debacle this season.

“We had them on the ropes in the second game but we let them get away with it. It cocked up the series for us. It is something we would regret,” Dravid said after allowing the hosts to take an unbeatable 3-1 lead in the series.

This is India’s first one-day international series loss this season after they won against Sri Lanka (6-1), Pakistan (4-1) and England (5-1), drew with South Africa (2-2) and also drew with Pakistan (1-1) at Abu Dhabi.

Besides that slip-up, the batsmen were also to be held responsible as they did not play to their potential and could not adjust to Caribbean conditions, Dravid said.

“We just didn’t have enough runs. The batsmen haven’t played up to the potential. A lot of our guys haven’t actually played in the Caribbean. Experience is something we will take away from this one-day series,” he said. — PTI

India to play for pride
Ashis Ray

Port of Spain, May 27
A subdued but not shattered Indian cricket squad attended a reception hosted by the Indian High Commissioner last evening. Looking at the brighter side, an official accompanying the tourists remarked it’s a blessing in disguise that the pitfalls of West Indian conditions have come to light now and not during the World Cup.

On the other hand, a representative of the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Association felt that the newly laid square at Queen’s Park Oval, where India will play all their matches in the first stage of the tournament, will be faster in nine months time.

No matter what spin anybody imparts to the humiliation, there can be no excuses for the Indians. Not to surpass a target of below 200 in the second ODI, to fall short of scoring 300 in the third and 250 in Friday’s decider were all inexcusable. Instead of appointing a shrink, the visitors could have asked for practice pitches resembling the track in the middle, for nets have been held on veritable snake pits.

But the biggest worry is Irfan Pathan. A non-playing member of the Indian touring party confided: “He’s completely exhausted and needs a break”. Compared to the fiery spells produced in 2004, his pace has steadily declined and Mahendra Singh Dhoni is often seen gathering his deliveries around his shins. But resting him runs the risk of not playing your best eleven.

A point not to be overlooked is the fact that West Indies raised their game and played to potential. In Brian Lara, Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnaraine Chanderpaul they always had a quartet of quality batsmen. And now in Fidel Edwards, Corey Collymore and Ian Bradshaw they have a trio of fairly accurate seamers. Most significantly, their fielding has improved by leaps and bounds. This is indicative of a better team spirit.

Even a dead rubber is important, for the extent of an ODI series victory has a bearing on the points system which determines the ICC rankings. In other words, India can ensure they don’t slide back by restricting the defeat to the narrowest margin.

At the same time, an anti-climax is an opportunity to test Robin Uthappa, give Venugopal Rao another chance (which could help Yuvraj Singh recuperate from his troublesome back) and, perhaps, recall Munaf Patel to rest Pathan before the first Test starting on June 2.

Queen’s Park Oval, again the venue for Sunday’s match, is a stone’s throw from the savannah. Around this expanse of greenery are landmarks which illuminate, among the city - nostalgically “Whitehall”, the Prime Minister Office, and the century old Queen’s College, alma mater of everybody who is anybody in this country. 

India slip in ODI rankings

Dubai, May 27
India paid a heavy price for their series defeat against the West Indies as they dropped two places to fifth in the latest ICC ODI rankings. Brian Lara’s team inflicted a 3-1 series loss on their fancied rivals after beating the visitors by six wickets at Port of Spain yesterday.

The defeat reversed India’s recent successful run in ODIs as they succumbed to their first series loss in nine months and having lost four points, now find themselves at 112 ratings points behind Australia, South Africa, Pakistan and New Zealand.

Australia with 132 points are way ahead of second placed South Africa who have 119 points.

Both Pakistan and New Zealand gained from India’s loss and surged ahead despite no change in their rating points.

West Indies, who have won their eight of last nine one-dayers, have added five points to their tally which has gone up to 96 but they still could not improve on their eighth positon. — PTI

Giant-killer Saina enters final

New Delhi, May 27
Teenage badminton prodigy Saina Nehwal continued with her sensational form to topple Ai Goto of Japan and reach the women’s singles final of the Philippines Open at Pasig City, Manila, today.

Sixteen-year-old Saina, an unseeded player in the tournament, beat Goto 21-19, 20-22, 21-14 to become the first Indian woman to reach the final in a four-star event.

After shocking top seed and world No. 4 Xu Huaiwen of Germany 12-21, 21-17, 21-17 in the quarterfinals yesterday, Saina put up another sparkling show to outclass Goto.

Saina will face seventh seed Julia Xian Pei Wong of Malaysia in the final 
tomorrow.

“It is a great feeling. I am very happy to make it to the final of such a big tournament. I never thought I would reach the final but I just kept playing my natural game and the rest happened,” an elated Saina told PTI on the phone from Manila.

The Hyderabadi shuttler, coached by former All-England badminton champion Pullela Gopichand, has been in stupendous form in the tournament. She packed off world No. 31 S. Mudukesan of Malaysia in the opener and then posted a victory over Sachiyo Imai of Japan before upsetting top seed Huaiwen.

“Beating the top seed gave me a lot of confidence and after taking one game off Xu, I thought I have a chance to win,” Saina said.

Saina exploded on the international scene after shocking 2002 Commonwealth Games champion Li Li of Singapore and silver medallist Hallam Tracey of England on her way to helping India win the bronze medal in the mixed team event in Melbourne early this year.

Meanwhile, in men’s doubles, Rupesh Kumar and Sanave Thomas lost to Hendra A Gunawan and Joko Riyadi of Indonesia 21-9, 12-21, 11-21 in the quarterfinals. — PTI

Chhattisgarh boys, girls score wins
Our Sports Reporter

Ludhiana, May 27
Holders Chhattisgarh began their campaign on strong foot scoring emphatic victories in the boys as well as the girls section on the first day of the 57th Dhanoa Junior National Basketball Championship, which started at Guru Nanak Sports Complex here today.

In the boys section, Chhattisgarh trounced West Bengal 69-42 with the main contributions coming through Pratham and Kiran Pal who netted 23 and 20 points, respectively.

In the girls section, Chhattisgarh in their opening encounter made mince meat of Chandigarh whom they routed 87-21.

For the winners, M Pushpa, Kanwaljit and Manjit stood tall among others scoring 19, 18 and 13 points, respectively. At half time, they led comfortably 51-12. For Chandigarh, Sonica and Sweety with contributions of 10 and six points, respectively, fought a losing battle.

However, Chandigarh had a reason to smile as their boys outclassed Uttaranchal 72-52 in a group A match.

In other matches (boys section), Pondicherry beat Goa 62-24 after leading 37-16 at half time; Orissa outplayed Gujarat 65-56 after enjoying six-point lead (28-22) at the breather; Uttar Pradesh got the better of Tamil Nadu 105-75 and Jharkhand defeated Karnataka 66-38.

The group D match in the boys section played between Haryana and Mizoram turned out to be a cliffhanger which eventually went in favour of the former (51-50). Haryana lads started the proceedings on a brisk pace and went into the lead. Joginder and Sahil weaved good moves and were assisted well by others. Mizoram players followed them closely but finally wilted under pressure and lost the battle with a one-point margin.

In the girls section, Tamil Nadu beat Karnataka 80-63 after leading 46-27 at half time.

The recruits of the Maharaha Ranjit Singh Punjab Police Academy, Phillaur gave an astonishing motorbike display on the occasion. Bazigars and horse riding skills by the Nihangs were the other features of the inaugural function.

Chandigarh to face Uttaranchal in final
Tribune News Service

Panchkula, May 27
Hot favourites Chandigarh will take on strong contenders Uttaranchal in the final of the National Twenty20 Cricket Championship for the Swift Cup being played at the Tau Devi Lal Sports Complex, Sector 3.

In the semifinals played today, Chandigarh thrashed Uttar Pradesh by 118 runs, whereas Uttaranchal beat Indian Twenty20 Cricket Federation (ITCF) by eight runs to set up tomorrow’s summit clash.

After winning the toss, Uttar Pradesh asked Chandigarh to bat first. Chandigarh set a challenging target of 165 runs. S Mahajan, who was awarded the man-of-the-match award, played a key role in the win as he wrapped up the UP innings by claiming five wickets for 22 runs.

Harikishan Kali again proved his worth by putting up an all-round performance. He scored 41 runs off 39 balls and took two wickets for four runs in just five balls.

Uttar Pradesh batsmen capitulated before the Chandigarh bowling attack to be bundled out for 46 in 8.5 overs.

In the second semifinal, a fine knock of 46 off 47 balls by skipper Mohammad Imran enabled Uttaranchal to score 122 for 7 in 20 overs against ITCF. In reply, ITCF scored 114 for 9 in 20 overs. Mohammad Imran was declared the man of the match.

Brief scores: Chandigarh: 164 in 20 overs (Harikrishan Kali 41, F Ahmed 44; U Kamaal 3 for 20); UP: 46 all out in 8.5 overs (Sourabh 13; S Mahajan 5 for 22, Sunil 3 for 16).

Uttaranchal: 122 for 7 in 20 overs (M Imran 46, Ravi Bisht 15; Jagdish Kumar 3 for 13); ITCF: 114 for 9 in 20 overs (Umesh Kaira 19, Gurinder Saini 26; Ravi 3 for 30).

Indian shooters off target

New Delhi, May 27
Indian shooters disappointed for the fourth successive day at the ISSF World Cup in Munich, Germany, as Pemba Tamang and Vijay Kumar failed to qualify for the finals of the men’s 25m rapid fire pistol event.

Commonwealth Games pairs gold medallist Tamang shot a score of 572 (287+285) to be placed 28th with a series of 96, 94, 97 in stage one and 95, 98, 92 in stage two.

His partner Vijay ended up 37th with a score of 568 (279+289). He fired 97, 97, 85 in stage one and 98, 96, 95 in stage two.

Another Indian shooter in the fray, Ramkishan Yadav, was 60th with a tally of 552 (271+281).

In men’s free rifle prone event, Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Sanjeev Rajput finished 44th with a score of 591 (97, 100, 99, 99, 100, 96).

Imran Hassan Khan shot a score of 582 (95, 96, 98, 98, 98, 97) which was not good enough for him to go beyond the elimination round.

Ace shooter Gagan Narang, who competed in the MQS (minimum quota score) category, shot a score of 582 (97, 99, 95, 97, 97, 97). Earlier, Narang had finished fourth in his pet 10m air rifle event. — PTI

Bhutia declared NFL’s best player

Mumbai, May 27
Despite being pipped by Dempo’s Ranty Martins in the NFL goal-scoring charts, Baichung Bhutia has been adjudged the best player of the 10th ONGC National Football League.

The coaches and captains of the NFL teams had voted Bhutia as the best player, All-India Football Federation President Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi said.

Bhutia, who scored 12 goals for East Bengal in the NFL campaign, also got the best forward award, while JCT Mills, Phagwara, won the fair play award for receiving the lowest number of cards (8) in the 81-match championship won by Mumbai’s Mahindra United for the first time.

Other winners: Best goalkeeper: Sandip Nandy (Mahindra United)

Jarnail Singh award for best defender: Mahesh Gawli (Mahindra United)

Best midfielder: Shanmugam Ventatesh (Mahindra United)

Top goal-scorer: Ranty Martins (Dempo) - 14

Club scoring most goals: Dempo (29)

First hat-trick scorer: Ranty Martins (Dempo) — PTI 

JCT, BSF in soccer final
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 27
BSF, Jalandhar, and JCT Mills, Phagwara, moved into the final of the second Nawab Sher Mohammed Khan Memorial Seven-a-Side Football Tournament at Malerkotla’s Dr Zakir Hussain Stadium last night.

In the first semifinal, Border Security Force beat Punjabi University, Patiala, 2-0 with goals through Sarabjit Singh and veteran Gurjit Atwal.

The second semifinal between JCT Mills and Mahilpur Football Club stretched to the tie-breaker after the two teams were level in regulation time. In the penalty shootout, JCT prevailed over their rivals 4-2.

The tournament is being played under floodlights under the aegis of the Nawab Sher Mohammed Khan Sports and Welfare Club, Malerkotla. 

BRIEFLY

Sania-Molik lose in final
New Delhi: A second doubles title this season eluded Sania Mirza as she and Australian Alicia Molik went down in the summit clash of the $ 200,000 WTA Tour event in Istanbul, Turkey, on Saturday. The Indo-Aussie pair lost 2-6, 4-6 to Alona Bondarenko of Ukraine and Belarussian Anastasia Yakimova in the claycourt event. This was the third doubles final Sania had reached this season, the earlier two being at the Bangalore Open and Amelia Island. On both those occasions, the 19-year old Indian was partnered by Liezel Huber of South Africa. The duo emerged winners at Bangalore but finished runners-up at Amelia Island. — PTI

Negi bags IM title
New Delhi: Neelotpal Das was on Saturday officially declared the 13th chess Grandmaster of India by FIDE, while wunderkind Parimarjan Negi became the country’s youngest-ever International Master. Himanshu Sharma of Haryana was also awarded the title at FIDE’s conference held on the sidelines of the Chess Olympiad in Turin, Italy. However, the case of Deepan Chakravarthy, who secured his third GM norm at the recent National A championships in Hyderabad, would be referred to the FIDE technical committee as the Tamil Nadu player is still to officially attain the required ELO rating points for the title. — PTI

Asia Pacific golf
New Delhi: Delhi boy Viraat Badhwar finished runner-up, while the Indian team stood fourth in the recently concluded 27th Asia Pacific Junior Amateur Golf Championship held at SICC Golf Club Singapore. In the individual category, Viraat Badhwar finished second with a splendid score of one-over 217. The youngster will now move to San Diego for the World Junior Championship where he finished runner-up two years back. Abhijit Chadha finished joint third in category B, according to information received here. The Indian team consisting of Amanjyot Singh, Rahul Bakshi, Abhijit Chadha and Rommel Mazumdar finished overall fourth. In the girls category, Lavery Kumar finished sixth, Sharmila Nicollet came 16th and Vaishvi Sinha stood 17th. — PTI

TT tourney
NEW DELHI: The 44th Summer Open Table Tennis Tournament will be held at the Talkatora Indoor Stadium from June 6 to 9. Entries close with Delhi Table Tennis Association organising secretary Hukam Singh at 6/2543, Beadon Pura, Karol Bagh, New Delhi. — OSR