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Cheema, Sushil bag bronze
Doha, December 14 Freestyle grapplers Palwinder Singh Cheema (120 kg) and Sushil Kumar (66 kg) won bronze medals by winning the third-place play-offs on the mat.  Medal
Tally
Openers have to come good
Sachin is best ODI bowler!
Doping chapter closed: PCB
HC reserves orders on CAB petition
Chowrasia, Johl tied 14th
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Doha, December 14 The Indian team, which had already taken an invincible lead in the competition, drew their ninth and last round with Kazakhstan to accumulate a total of 22.5 points and fetch the second gold medal in the game of 64 squares. Koneru Humpy had given a terrific start by winning the individual gold medal in the first week of the Asian Games. “It is a good feeling to win another gold for the country. We were confident of winning the title before the competitions started, and its great to have done it,” Humpy said. In the last round, Grandmaster Krishnan Sasikiran drew with Kazakh GM Darmen Sadvakassov while GM Pentala Harikrishna lost to GM Murtas Kazhgaleyev. In the final game, Koneru Humpy beat Dana Akateyeva to give India a total of 1.5 points from the tie, the same as the Kazakh team. The Chinese team took second position with a total of 17.5 points while Iran came third with 16 in the chess event, which made its maiden appearance at the Asian Games here.
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Doha, December 14 At half time, India led 1-0.India shot into the lead in the 13th minute when Raghunath, with a superb powerful drag-flick, converted the penalty corner (1-0).
The Malaysians retaliated and that fetched them a penalty corner which was muffed. After that couple of more raids followed which kept the Indian defence busy for some time but soon the ball travelled back into the rival side and then stayed into that half till the breather.
The Indian midfielders controlled the proceedings of the game and the Malaysian forwards hardly made any serious attempt to cut through them. The tempo of the game slackened further as lemon break time approached.
The second session saw the Indians on the attack most of the time. Six minutes into this session, the winners hit their second goal through striker Rajpal Singh (2-0).
Then another raid saw Tushar Khandekar darting past the defenders but found himself in a very narrow angle and could no score. The Malaysians attacked in bit and pieces and there was no cohesion in their moves and Indian goalkeeper Bharat Chettri was never very seriously tested. Despite having more possession of the ball and more space to cover, the Indians took another 20 minutes to score their third goal and this came when they earned their second penalty corner. This time too Raghunath was bang on target as his powerful drag-flick beat the goalkeeper all ends up (3-0). Three minute later, India firmly sealed the match in their favour when midfielder Gurbaz intercepted a loose ball, side-stepped couple of defenders to shot home the fourth goal. Earlier, Bangladesh beat Chinese Taipei 5-1 to take the seventh place. Pakistan get bronze Striker Muhammad Waqas scored a brace as Pakistan defeated Japan 4-2 and win the Asian Games hockey Bronze medal and a place in the 2008 Beijing Olympics here today. The result is a face-saver for the green shirts after their ouster from the gold medal run by underdogs China in the semifinals. Pakistan played a vastly improved and determined game to defend the bronze. There success, however, was dependent on Waqas who hammered in two second half goals to ensure his team’s win. — UNI, PTI
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Cheema, Sushil bag bronze
Doha, December 14 Superheavy grappler Palwinder Singh Cheema, the Punjab policeman from Patiala, beat Kazakhstan Marid Mutalimov, ranked fourth in the last world championship, 3-1, and Sushil Kumar beat Leonid Spiridonov of Kazakhstan 3-1 in the bronze medal play-off.
Earlier, Kumar progressed to the bronze medal round when he outclassed Al-Qubaisi Mohamed of the United Arab Emirates.
— PTI
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SAFARI: 1st Test
Johannesburg, December 14 Yet, Virender Sehwag, the mayor of Melbourne and Multan in 2003-04, and Wasim Jaffer, the toast of Antigua only six months ago, have looked at sea. The resultant pressure on the middle order has even extended the redoubtable Sachin Tendulkar. Now, the visitors look desperately at Rahul Dravid, back from injury to lead the Indians and who recorded 148 (his maiden Test hundred) and 81 in his last appearance at the Wanderers, to re-instill the elusive resilience. Johannesburg mirrors Mumbai. It’s not only South Africa’s commercial capital, but a city where Test cricket has been played at three centres, the Old Wanderers, Ellis Park and present Wanderers — host to the highest level of the game since 1956. In this intimidating, yet inspiring bull-ring atmosphere, the South Africans have been plotting to expose the Indians to a pace battery of Shaun Pollock, Makhaya Ntini, Andre Nel and Dale Steyn, with Jacque Kallis as back-up. Indeed, the South African coach, Mickey Arthur, unashamedly admitted that his management have been speaking to groundsmen to prepare ‘pitches with pace and bounce’. The South Africans have been smarting every since turning tracks were thrust upon them in India in 2004. Now, India have opted to meet fire with fire. The recalled Zaheer Khan has been the pick of the Indian bowlers on this tour. Sreesanth, whenever utilised, has swung the ball at considerable pace; while VRV Singh, with his ability to hit the deck at high velocity, looked quite promising in last week’s warm-up game. Apart from the pedigreed Kallis and the talented Herschelle Gibbs, the South African batting is their Achilles heel. However, after several days of sunshine in what’s summer in the southern hemisphere, a dry, hard surface with cracks could be right up the alley of a certain Anil Kumble, whose wrist spinners fetched him eight wickets in his first appearance at the Wanderers in 1992, including remarkable second innings figures of 44-22-53-6. The wicket is expected to be bouncy. But how much it will lend to lateral movement is a matter for conjecture? The fact is, while India have not won any of their nine Tests in South Africa, they have never lost at the Wanderers either. Indeed, in 1997, the home side, set a target of 356, were 266 for eight, after 22 overs were devoured by rain on the final day. On this visit, too, India are so far unscathed at this ground, with the ODI abandoned and the Pro-20 match finishing in India’s favour. All said and done, though, much will depend on whether Sehwag can return to fitness and form; and Tendulkar and Ganguly can overcome their failing eyes. A lack of continuity in his career also makes VVS Laxman vulnerable. Their techniques are bound to be tested. So, can they prevail with their experience? “People have written us off and that’s a dangerous thing to do,” remarked a resolute Dravid. This is true, for India dominated the five-dayers in the West Indies in the summer after losing in the ODIs. Besides, the Indian are ranked higher than South Africa in the Test standings. Teams (likely): India:
Rahul Dravid (captain), Virender Sehwag, Wasim Jaffer, VVS Laxman, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Anil Kumble, Zaheer Khan, Sreesanth and VRV Singh. South Africa: Graeme Smith (captain), Herschelle Gibbs, Jacques Kallis, Hashim Amla, Ashwell Prince, AB de Villiers, Mark Boucher, Shaun Pollock, Andre Nel, Dale Steyn and Makhaya
Ntini. Hours of play (IST): 2 pm to 4 pm; 4.40 pm to 6.40 pm; 7 pm till close.
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Openers have to come good
The Indian team had a fine blend of experience and youth, and also seemed to have had the personnel to take the attack to the enemy camp. India had quality seam bowlers who could exploit the pitches in South Africa to good effect. The batting also had the class and experience and could withstand anything that had the South Africans threw at them. That it didn’t quite happen is now history, as the Indian batsman just could not cope with the bounce and lateral movement of the South African pace bowlers, and so could not put up enough runs for the bowlers to defend. The new-ball bowlers did a splendid job for India, especially at the start of the South African innings, and gave their line-up a none-too-easy time, but were not able to deliver the killer punch and stem the flow of runs by the lower order. The South Africans went on to win the one-day series 4-0, with the first game at the Wanderers in Johannesburg washed out due to incessant rain. The Indians won the 20-20 game at the same venue and it is at the same venue that the first Test of the series begins. That is a good omen. If one goes strictly by omens, then India should do well. They lost the only warm-up game they had before the one-day series began, and went on to lose it, and if that was a bad omen, then their victory in the only warm-up game before the Tests should give them the belief that they can win the Test series. Quite simply, they need a decent start, if not a brilliant one. If the openers can stay there till lunch and see off the first spell of the South African pace bowlers, then they will help the strokemakers to come in when the ball is not doing much. The South Africans know that they do not have a spinner to worry the Indians, and with Boje’s retirement, the cupboard is pretty bare. They will go in with a four-pronged pace attack with Kallis as the fifth seam bowler, and perhaps a few overs from Smith if the over-rate is slow. India’s advantage is that once the pitch flattens out, there is no variety in the attack, and that’s why the new ball becomes so important for the South Africans. They have to get the top four early, which helps them to attack the lower middle-order and knock the team over. The return of Rahul Dravid to the side will mean that India have a batsman who can bat according to the situation and not in F1 mode all the time. Sourav Ganguly will surely play after his first-innings knock in the warm-up game, and his seamers could also be handy on these pitches. India ’s dilemma will be whether to play both spinners or not. The way the batting has shaped up on this tour, they will at least for the opening Test, go in with six batsmen plus Pathan and Dhoni, and so one spinner may have to miss out. If the ‘flexibility’ mantra is still being practiced, then Pathan could open the batting, and that will give both spinners room in the side, along with two seamers. That would be the bold way to go, but after the one-day experience, they may well be cautious rather than aggressive. With a lot of determination and plenty of discipline, the tide can be turned. We shall soon find out.
— PMG
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Dravid only Indian batsman in top 10
Dubai, December 14 Skipper Rahul Dravid is the only batsman who figures in the latest LG ICC top ten players rankings in the third spot. Virender Sehwag is a distant 17th.
But India can move up and join Pakistan at third spot if it manages a 1-0 series win against South Africa. A 2-0 or 3-0 whitewash will help India go past Pakistan and will take it close to second-placed England. In bowling, Anil Kumble and Irfan Pathan slipped one spot to occupy 8th and 14th places respectively. England, playing their third Ashes Test at the WACA, are lying well behind table toppers Australia who are sitting on top of the Test Rankings since June 2003. Even if Australia, who have a 2-0 lead in the Ashes, ends up losing the series 2-3, it will still remain at the top. New Zealand, currently seventh, can draw level with Sri Lanka at fifth place if it beats Mahela Jayawardene's team at Wellington. Ponting is top Test batsman. Mohammad Yousuf holds the second spot. Muttiah Muralitharan has strengthened his position at the top of the bowler rankings with 7 wickets in the first Test against New Zealand. Shane Bond has moved up three places to joint fifth with England's Matthew Hoggard.
— PTI
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Sachin is best ODI bowler!
Johannesburg, December 14 Tendulkar was given the award, introduced this year, for his five for 50 against Pakistan in April last year. Tendulkar was also felicitated for breaking Sunil Gavaskar’s record of 34 Test centuries by Gavaskar himself. The awards were organised outside India for the first time since being instituted in 1997 and honoured past and present cricketers for their contribution to the game. Rahul Dravid was named the Indian Cricketer of the Year and his hundreds against Pakistan in the 2005 series also fetched him the Best Batting Performance in Test Matches award. Dhoni’s 183-run blitzkrieg against Sri Lanka in a home series was chosen as the best ODI batting performance. Veteran leg-spinner Anil Kumble’s 3/45 and 7/63 against Pakistan in the 2005 tour were selected as the Best Test bowling performance. The awards evening kicked off with a special citation and award to former South African captain and the first Managing Director of the United Cricket Board of South Africa Dr Ali Bacher. A special memento to commemorate the 15th Anniversary of South Africa’s return to international cricket was presented to the current South African team. The memento was received by Shaun Pollock on behalf of the South African team.
— UNI
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Monty Panesar sparkles
Perth, December 14 The left-arm spinner claimed the scalps of Justin Langer, Andrew Symonds, Adam Gilchrist, Shane Warne and Brett Lee to finish with figures of five for 92 and become the first English spinner to take five test wickets in an innings at the WACA. Strike bowler Steve Harmison also rediscovered his form to take four for 48, including the prize wickets of Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke, as England’s bowlers enjoyed their best day of the series. England’s batting, however, which collapsed in the Adelaide Test to hand a 2-0 lead in the series, looked shaky once again. Opener Alastair Cook continued his poor run when he departed for 15 and Ian Bell went for a second-ball duck, leaving Andrew Strauss (24 not out) and Paul Collingwood (10 not out) to battle through to stumps. Cook was caught by Langer at fourth slip off Glenn McGrath and Bell edged express paceman Lee to wicketkeeper Gilchrist with the two wickets falling in the space of six deliveries. Collingwood, who made a double-century in the last test, had a lucky escape on four when Warne dropped a regulation slip catch off the bowling of Stuart Clark. The only Australian batsmen to make a significant score was left-hander Mike Hussey, who finished unbeaten on 74 after chalking up his fourth successive half-century of the series. Panesar was controversially overlooked for the first two Tests but was finally given his chance when the English selectors dropped the ineffective Ashley Giles. They also replaced seamer James Anderson with Sajid Mahmood. Panesar’s omission from the first two Tests appeared even more baffling when he claimed a wicket with his seventh delivery, bowling Langer with the last ball before lunch. The left-arm spinner claimed a second scalp before tea when Symonds nicked a catch to wicketkeeper Geraint Jones and a third when Gilchrist was caught by a scrambling Bell at short leg for a duck. Warne was also caught behind and Lee was trapped lbw, giving Panesar his third five-wicket haul in only his 11th Test and cementing his place in the team. Harmison, who had taken just one wicket in the series after erratic displays in Brisbane and Adelaide, rediscovered his line and length at the perfect time to trap Ponting lbw for two and held a return one-handed catch to remove Clarke for 37. The tall fast bowler then polished off the tail by dismissing Clark and McGrath. The reliable Matthew Hoggard finished with one for 40 after making the initial breakthrough to remove Matthew Hayden for 24. Scoreboard Australia (1st innings) Langer b Panesar 37 Hayden c Jones b Hoggard 24 Ponting lbw Harmison 2 Hussey not out 74 Clarke c and b Harmison 37 Symonds c Jones b Panesar 26 Gilchrist c Bell b Panesar 0 Warne c Jones b Panesar 25 Lee lbw Panesar 10 Clark b Harmison 3 McGrath c Cook b Harmison 1 Extras
(nb-4, w-1) 5 Total (all out, 71 overs) 244 Fall of wickets:
1-47, 2-54, 3-69, 4-121, 5-172, 6-172, 7-214,8-234, 9-242. Bowling:
Hoggard 12-2-40-1, Flintoff 9-2-36-0, Harmison 19-4-48-4, Panesar 24-3-92-5, Mahmood 7-2-28-0. England (1st innings) Andrew Strauss not out 24 Alastair Cook c Langer Ian Bell c Gilchrist b Lee 0 Paul Collingwood not out 10 Extras
(nb-2) 2 Total (2 wkts, 14 overs) 51 Fall of wickets:
1-36, 2-37. Bowling: Lee 5-0-24-1, McGrath 5-1-18-1, Clark 2-1-1-0, Warne 2-0-8-0. —
Reuters
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Doping chapter closed: PCB
Lahore, December 14 The PCB chief said since the ICC has chosen to stay away from issue, WADA had no business interfering in the ‘internal matters’ of Pakistan cricket. “If WADA has any reservations, it should first approach the ICC, the global governing body of the game. The PCB has not received any written objection from any quarter regarding the lifting of bans on Shoaib and Asif not even from the ICC. So the doping chapter is closed now,” Mr Ashraf was quoted by the local media as saying. Mr Ashraf once again denied having any influence in the lifting of the bans on the two bowlers. The duo was found guilty by the PCB anti-doping tribunal but was acquitted by an appeals committee. The acquittal sparked off criticism from the World Anti-Doping Agency, which is now contemplating legal action against the Pakistani board. But WADA is not willing to treat the issue as an internal matter of Pakistan and after chief Dick Pound lambasted the PCB for its “aberrational” handling, Director-General David Howman called for sanctions against the board. “Should that go without a sanction? This doesn’t fit with the whole process that we have in place globally. So that is of some concern on the face of it,” Mr Howman told Cricinfo. “...it would be most unusual that athletes who have in essence accepted that they had the banned substance in their bodies they didn’t challenge the analysis by even getting the B tests analysed,” he added, raising doubts over the entire trial conducted by the PCB. Mr Howman said WADA would decide its next move after meeting ICC officials this week.
— UNI
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HC reserves orders on CAB petition
Chennai, December 14 Justice Chithra Venkataraman reserved the orders on the petition after hearing the CAB and BCCI counsels. Appearing for CAB president Jagmohan Dalmiya, senior counsel A.L. Somaiyaji sought a direction restraining the BCCI from permitting anyone else except its members from voting at special general meetings.
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Chowrasia, Johl tied 14th
Bangkok, December 14 Thai Prayad Marksaeng grabbed the opening round lead with a sizzling five-under 67, with the quartet of Thongchai Jaidee, Prom Meesawat, Terry Pilkadaris and Lin Keng-chi breathing down his neck one shot behind. On day one of the $650,000 season-ending tournament, all eyes were on Jeev, who is hoping for a Volvo treble after winning the Volvo China Open and the Volvo Masters in Spain. Jeev, however, found himself in early trouble, approaching the 14th hole at three-over, following the bogeys on the third, fifth, 12th and 13th holes as against the lone birdie on the seventh. Jeev then showed why he is considered the hottest player on the planet, reeling off three birdies over the next three holes to atone for the dropped shots and ended the day with an even-par card. Defending champion Shiv Kapur had a roller-coaster even-par round with four birdies being negated by as many bogeys. Johl and Chowrasia came up with the best show by the Indian and the former rode a bogey-free back nine to return two-under 70 with four birdies as against a couple of bogeys. Chowrasia, nicknamed “Chipputtsia” for his magical short game, showed why he is considered the next best thing in Indian golf and returned a round of 70 to stay in hunt for a decent finish. Chowrasia fired a birdie treble but bogeys on the fifth and ninth held him back in the front nine.
— UNI
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Kapil Dev backs Men in Blue. (
India embarked on this tour to South Africa , I genuinely believed that they had an excellent chance of winning a one-day series and Test series in South Africa for the first time.