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India Red outplay seniors in style
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England hold India in controversial match
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India Red outplay seniors in style
Chennai, October 1 India Blue needed 281 to win but the match was virtually put beyond their grasp by the 21st over with top four batsmen back in the pavilion but the left-handed pair of Yuvraj Singh and Dinesh Mongia took up the revival act in a grand manner for about 19 overs. Again the Blues were in a spot with Mongia and Yuvraj Singh failing to stick to their goals. Hereabout, Irfan Pathan (19), Ravindra Jadeja (11) were run out and Ajit Agarkar (6) and Harbhajan were out cheaply to give victory to India Red. V.R.V. Singh (3/49), Murali Kartik (2/45) and Zaheer Khan (2/34) were the successful bowlers for the Reds. Earlier, Gautam Gambhir (110) and Venugopal Rao (67) helped India Red to pile up 280 all out in 50 overs after opting to bat. For the Blues, Irfan Pathan (3/55), Munaf Patel (3/49) and Ajit Agarkar (2/57) shared the wickets. Struggle of Men in Blue in the batting department seen in the Kuala Lumpur DLF Cup seems to be continuing. Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag were scoring at a brisk pace, at seven runs an over in the first 10 overs. But, they had to change gear adding only 24 runs in the next six overs with the spinners, Murali Kartik and Romesh Powar, operating from the ends. In fact, Sehwag, who seemed to have injured his ankle while turning around for a second run in the 13th over, when his score was 23 and the team’s 77 without loss, had a reprieve four runs later. Going in for a mighty lofted shot, Sehwag skied the ball and V.R.V. Singh had the ball slip out of his hands. However, Sehwag did not stay longer as he fell to a direct throw at the stumps on bowlers end by Sreesanth from mid-wicket. On the other hand, Tendulkar, who was not resilient but was looking to be aggressive, had reached his fifty, 36 runs of it coming through fours and sixes (6 fours and 2 sixes) off 54 balls. With Dravid joining Tendulkar, one expected the pair to steady their innings but an intellegent move by Venugopal Rao bringing back Zaheer Khan and V.R.V. Singh spelt the doom for middle-order batsmen of India Blue. With Zaheer dismissing Tendulkar, being caught to a superb low catch at covers by Venugopal Rao, V.R.V. Singh brought about the blow scalping both Dravid and Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The Blues were left gasping at 110 for four, losing all the four big guns for a mere 14 runs. Here, Yuvraj and Mongia brought about their resurrection act with positive approach and steadily improved the scoring rate. Pairing together for two balls less than 14 overs, they took the score to 187 for four at the end of 34 overs. The Blues suffered yet another jolt as Mongia made his exit for a reckless pull of Kartik and offered a simple catch to V.R.V Singh, who was then on 46. With Yuvraj Singh also leaving the middle being caught by Robin Uthappa of Murali Kartik, it appeared as if the Blues stood only the smallest sliver of a chance and were under tremendous pressure after Irfan Pathan was run out by Dinesh Kaarthick. India Red Uthappa c Patel b Pathan 10 Gambhir run out 110 Badrinath c Jadeja b Pathan 15 Rao c Mongia b Pathan 67 Rohit c Tendulkar b Patel 33 Kaarthick c Harbhajan b Agarkar 11 Powar b Patel 0 Kartik c Sehwag b Patel 12 Zaheer c Tendulkar b Agarkar 5 Sreeshanth not out 3 V.R.V Singh run out 2 Extras (lb-1, w-3, nb-8) 12 Total
(all out, 50overs) 280 Fall of wickets: 1-15, 2-44, 3-189, 4-227, 5-244, 6-249, 7-266, 8-274, 9-275. Bowling: Pathan 10-0-55-3, Patel 10-1-49-3, Agarkar 10-0-57-2, Harbhajan 10-0-58-0, Mongia 5-0-29-0, Sehwag 2-0-13-0, Jadeja 3-0-18-0. India Blue Sehwag run out 28 Tendulkar c Rao b Zaheer 61 Dravid lbw V.R.V. Singh 1 Yuvraj c Uthappa b Kartik 57 Dhoni c Kaarthick b V.R.V. Singh 6 Mongia c V.R.V. Singh b Kartik 26 Pathan run out 19 Jadeja run out 11 Agarkar c Uthappa b V.R.V Singh 6 Harbhajan c V.R.V Singh b Zaheer 15 Patel not out 0 Extras
(lb-5, w-18, nb-6) 29 Total (all out, 47.3 overs) 259 Fall of wickets:
1-96, 2-102, 3-102, 4-110, 5-189, 6-207, 7-227, 8-236, 9-249. Bowling: Zaheer 8.3-0-34-2, Sreesanth 9-3-58-0, Kartik 10-0-45-2, Powar 10-0-68-0, V.R.V Singh 10-0-49-3.
— PTI
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Windies, Sri Lanka keen to qualify
M.S. Unnikrishnan
New Delhi, October 1 “We have to play three games to qualify. That is very unfortunate. But the pressure is on players in every international game and that is only going to fire them up,” said Lara on the team’s arrival from Kuala Lumpur last night. The West Indies, despite being the defending champions, have the ignominy of playing in the qualifying round along with Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh from October 7. The West Indies meet Zimbabwe in their first qualifying match at Ahmedabad on October 8, while Sri Lanka will take on Bangladesh in Mohali on October 7. After winning the Champions Trophy in 2004, the West Indies could not capitalise on their success as the team was beset by myriad problems which had an adverse impact on the performance of the team, leading to their slump in ranking, which robbed them of a direct entry into the tournament. Lankan coach Tom Moody, too, sounded optimistic about his team’s prospects in the Champions Trophy. He said the Lankan team had gained much after suffering a humiliating 1-6 hiding at the hands of India during their tour of this country last year.
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England hold India in controversial match
Madrid, October 1 Asunta Lakra scored with a powerful drive in the nick of half-time to put India ahead 1-0, but the Indians were shocked to see the scoreboard read 0-0 when they came out to resume play in the second period. The Indian eves, who had lost their previous two matches by a one-goal margin, played out a 1-1 draw to earn their first point in the 12-nation tournament. Schloe Rogers gave England their first goal, tapping in a sloppy clearance by the Indian goalie in the 47th minute. But India levelled the score 11 minutes later when a penalty stroke was awarded after an England defender’s boot deflected a shot at the goal. Surinder Kaur converted in style for her fourth goal of the tournament. The pass that fed Lakra in the 35th minute was adjudged to have come from a high-held stick, hence the cancellation of the goal. But what angered the Indian camp was that the goal was allowed by the on-field umpire but the decision was quietly reversed during the break. As if to add insult to injury, the tournament officials refused to accept India’s protest and call for video evidence. Coach Maharaj Kaushik and Co. were told they could register a protest only at the end of the match. India-England matches have a history of controversies. In the final of the Manchester Commonwealth Games in 2002, India won by a golden goal which was disputed by the rivals. Today’s match was full of drama, too. Television replays being called into play to decide on an England goal with two minutes to go for the buzzer. India appealed against an England goal through a long range shot that was deflected by Kary Williams inside the circle. Video evidence backed their claim and their appeal was upheld. There was some blood spilt as well when Jennie Bimson was stuck on the face by Mamta Kharab who attempted a shot on the run. The result left India in a must-win situation in the remaining two matches against Spain and China, on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively. Last edition’s runner-up Holland beat Spain 2-0 to lead Pool A with nine points, followed by Spain with six after three matches each. England, after their third match today, have four points while India have one. Germany had three and China none at the start of the day’s proceedings. Australia lead Pool B with nine points followed by Argentina (7), South Korea (4), South Africa (2), Japan (1) and the USA (1), who all have played three matches each. Top two teams from each pool advance to the
semifinals. — PTI
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BPCL, IOC set up title clash
Amardeep Bhattal Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, October 1 In the semifinals played today, BPCL prevailed over a fighting Namdhari XI 2-0 scoring once in each half while Indian Oil Corporation shocked defending champions Punjab and Sind Bank 5-3 via tie-breaker after the two teams were level 1-1 in regulation time. In the first semifinal, the superiority of BPCL was seldom in doubt but the gallant Namdhari XI, though beaten, were certainly not disgraced. Packed with several internationals, including Olympians Ravi Naiker (1992, Barcelona), Sabu Varkey (1996, Atlanta) and Sukhbir Singh Gill (2000, Sydney), BPCL were technically superior and a more experienced side. Had it not been for some missed chances, the margin of BPCL’s victory could have been wider. BPCL’s Amar Aiyamma, who missed a golden chance as early as in the fourth minute when he hit wide off the target with an empty goal in front, proved to be the culprit on at least two more occasions. Midway into the first session, he missed a sitter when fed a tailor-made pass by Sabu Varkey and later in the second half, he failed to score with only the goalkeeper at his mercy. The Namdharis, playing under the watchful eyes of Olympian Didar Singh, did put up a brave fight. Defender Avtar Singh tackled the opponents intelligently while skipper Anmolak Singh, Gurpreet Singh, Jagdeep Kumar, Sher Singh, and Gurcharan Singh carried out forays at frequent intervals. In fact the goals that the Namdharis conceded were rather soft. The first coming off a penalty corner in the 30th minute, was scored by Irshad Ali after Prabhdeep left a dummy. The second goal 11 minutes after the interval was the result of a free hit from just outside the semi-circle by Prabhdeep. Diminutive forward Ravi Pal hailing from Sansarpur, standing inside the striking zone, directed the hit goalwards. Although the goalkeeper attempted a save, the ball landed in the goalpost, sending a wave of joy in the BPCL camp. Saby Varkey was declared man-of-the-match. BPCL were awarded three penalty corners while Namdharis earned two. The second semifinal between Punjab and Sind Bank and Indian Oil Corporation was well contested. Both the sides had enough ammunition with former Olympians and internationals utilising their rich experience to outdo each other. While the bankmen boasted of players like Olympian Baljit Singh Saini and internationals Teja Singh, Baljeet Singh Chandi, and Parminder Singh, Indian Oil Corporation had Olympians Devesh Chouhan, Prabhjot Singh, and Deepak Thakur besides stars like Didar Singh and Inderjit Chadha. IOC initially enjoyed the upper hand, forcing a penalty corner in the fifth minute. However, Bikramjit Singh’s drag flick was palmed away by the goalkeeper in the nick of time. In the 13th minute, Humza of IOC had only the goalkeeper at his mercy but in haste he shot straight into him. Another counter attack by Deepak Thakur saw goalkeeper Teja Singh once again effecting a timely save. A few minutes before the interval, a minor scuffle between IOC goalkeeper Devesh Chouhan and PSB’s Kulwinder Singh held up the proceedings but umpires Varinder Bahadur and Davinder Singh prevented the situation from going out of control. Soon after, PSB forged ahead when Rajinder Singh put Parminder in possession inside the striking circle. Parminder wasted no time in putting the ball in, giving his side the vital lead (1-0). It was 10 minutes after the interval that IOC found the equaliser through a field goal scored by Deepak Thakur (1-1). Thereafter, the two sides made several attempts to clinch the issue but a goal eluded them. In the tie-breaker that ensued, IOC scored through Bikramjit Singh, Bharat Kumar, Dewakar and Didar Singh. For Punjab and Sind Bank, only Rajinder Singh and Kuljinder Singh were on target. IOC goalkeeper Devesh Chouhan was declared man-of-the-match. The final, to be played at 4 pm, will be telecast live by DD, according to Mr Yash Vohra, organising secretary.
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Schumacher wins Chinese GP
Shanghai, October 1 Beginning in wet conditions, Schumacher manoeuvred his way up from a sixth-place start, getting faster as the track dried. “It’s quite a miracle, we are there,” said the German, who will retire at the end of the season. Defending champion Alonso started in pole position, but lost the lead on the 31st lap. He struggled back to finish second, just ahead of team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella. Seven-time world champion Schumacher now shares the driver’s standings lead with Alonso on 116 points with two races remaining this season, although Schumacher has seven wins to Alonso’s six. It was the 91st career win and the fifth in the last seven races for Schumacher. After morning showers drenched the track, the rain paused for the start with both Renaults in the front row for the third time this season. With the track drying as the race wore on, Ferrari’s choice of tyres and the timing of its tyre changes gave it the edge over Renault. “We found the right moment to change to dry tyres and we had enough of a gap to drive it safely home,” Schumacher said. Moving smoothly away from the field, Alonso had a gap of 11.5 seconds over Fisichella after 10 laps, while Schumacher languished in fifth, more than 20 seconds behind the leading trio. After the first pit stops from laps 20 to 22, Alonso maintained a lead of 10 seconds but he clearly had trouble with his front tyres, losing seconds with each lap. By lap 29, three cars were within a few lengths of each other when Fisichella and Schumacher passed Alonso. “I had those nine or 10 laps, I was completely off the pace,” said Alonso. “And I think the race finished there.” Appearing drained and emotionless, Alonso could only look to next week’s race in Japan. “It doesn’t matter what feeling you have. The winner is Michael and he deserved the victory because he was in front of the other drivers,” said Alonso. “For sure today we lost one big opportunity,” the Spaniard said, rueing the missed chance to improve his odds of winning a second consecutive championship. Schumacher’s response couldn’t have been more different, leaping onto his car, punching his fists in the air, and hugging every red-suited member of his team that he could find. Was he pleased with the win ? “Oh yeah. Absolutely,” he said emphatically. Button finished fourth, de la Rosa fifth, Barrichello sixth, Heidfeld seventh and Mark Webber eighth. McLaren’s Kimi Raikkonen made a strong start and had climbed to second after 15 laps, but was forced to exit the race in the 18th lap with car trouble.
— AP
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Ghei ends 11-year title drought
Taiwan, October 1 Ghei’s first and only Asian Tour title before this came at the 1995 Gadgil Western Masters with the much-talked-about chip-in for eagle on the 72nd hole. With almost 20 top-10 finishes in the period since, including a close second at the Hero Honda Indian Open last year, Ghei finally ended his wait for the second title with a brilliant six-under 66 that saw him register a great victory. Ghei’s immediate reaction to the win was one of relief. “It has been 11 years since I won and the way I played in the last two days without dropping a shot, it is just fantastic. This is all going to take a while to sink in,” said Ghei, who also made a giant leap to 10 places on the Asian Tour’s UBS Order of Merit, with earnings of $ 218,000. Jeev joint third
Shizuoka (Japan): Jeev Milkha Singh continued his terrific run of top-10 finishes in 2006 when he carded a one-under 70 in the final round of the 120 million yen Coca-Cola Tokai Classic golf championship to finish joint third here today. In a tournament played in very difficult weather conditions, Jeev had rounds of 69,72, 75 and 70 for a total of two-over 286, which was four short of the winner, Hidemasa Hoshino. Chopra joint 3rd
Madison (USA): Daniel Chopra carded a four-under 68 to be placed joint third after the third round in the Southern Farm Bureau Classic golf here. The Indo-Swede, fired four birdies and no bogeys to come to nine-under 207 and three behind the leader DJ Trahan (71), who is at 12-under. Arjun Atwal, who is battling to keep his card for the next season on the US PGA Tour, also shot a 68 and moved up from tied 70th to 40th after three rounds. Jyoti tied 18th
Hertfordshire (UK): India’s Jyoti Randhawa stayed in line for a decent finish, finishing tied 18th after the third round of the American Express World Golf Championship here. Despite two bogeys towards the end of the third round, Randhawa managed an even-par 72 for a card of five-under for 54 holes.
— PTI
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