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Ishant not to fly to SA: Vengsarkar
Dalmiya resigns from CAB
Ranji Trophy: Close finish
on cards
Liberals Hockey Mohun Bagan in final
Vijay eyes Olympic gold
Ashreet shines
Ashutosh sails into last eight
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Sachin arrests Indian wobble Ashis Ray
Kingsmead (Durban), December 27 Much depends on the two stalwarts at the crease – Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman – and Saurav Ganguly, the next man in. Tendulkar was spilled by Graeme Smith at 21 off Andrew Hall. But before and after this escape, his application and watertight technique were a connoisseur’s delight. He was patience personified. But if a bowler wavered in the slightest, he capitalised with classical precision. Having square cut and cover driven the right-arm fast-medium Morne Morkel in one over, he exquisitely repeated the last stroke off Shaun Pollock, whose delayed introduction was greeted with applause by a small but enthusiastic crowd. He, then, stood tall on the front foot to despatch the nagging Andre Nel to the extra cover fence. India need an extended exhibition of this kind to keep the South Africans at bay. On resumption, Ashwell Prince cover drove Sreesanth for four to obtain the two runs he needed to complete his fifth test hundred. It had been an admirable effort in adversity, adorned with 14 boundaries. But the Kerala fast bowler, returning with the new ball, had the left-hander chasing a rising ball to second slip, where Laxman clutched on one-handed. The southern express, thus, solely or jointly, finished as the highest wicket-taker in three innings in a row. Meanwhile, Anil Kumble, India’s all-time highest wicket-taker against South Africa, took his tally to 74 with another, typically economical haul. But crucially, South Africa had recovered from 28 for three, with 71 runs realised by their last two wickets. Indeed, Morkel, a tall, willowy left-hander, made an excellent impression with an unbeaten 31. India needed to navigate a tricky three quarters of an hour before lunch – play having started 15 minutes ahead of schedule to partially make up for lost time on the first day. They, however, failed to avoid an ambush, as Virender Sehwag, off the very first ball he faced, played away from his body to be caught at second slip. Though he averages a striking 51 in tests, a lack of footwork compounded by flirtation is currently not helping his cause. Rahul Dravid announced himself with a streaking off-drive off Makhaya Ntini. But after the midday meal, the rugged and towering Nel, breathing fire and brimstone, trapped the skipper lbw. “Hawk-Eye” on TV suggested the ball would have sailed over the stumps. But to be fair, it was a perfectly acceptable decision. The pitch was drier than the first day. This meant less lateral movement, but increasing bounce. Wasim Jaffer, after driving handsomely on both sides of the wicket, including a peach of an off-drive off Morkel, was surprised by one that flew off the shoulder of his bat. The Mumbai opener had done the hard work, but not derived the dividend. But after two sessions of sunshine, the clouds gathered, the floodlights were switched on, but to no avail, truncating 35 overs of play. And the weather forecast for Thursday is not encouraging. Scoreboard South Africa (1st innings) Smith c Sachin b Zaheer 5 De Villiers c Sachin b Sreesanth 9 Amla lbw Zaheer 1 Gibbs c Dhoni b Sreesanth 63 Prince c Laxman b Sreesanth 121 Boucher b Sreesanth 53 Pollock c Sehwag b VRV 11 Hall lbw Kumble 0 Nel b Kumble 0 Morkel not out 31 Ntini lbw Kumble 16 Extras (lb-3, nb-14, w-1) 18 Total (all out, 91.3 overs) 328 Fall of wickets: 1-8, 2-13, 3-28, 4-122, 5-222, 6-256, 7-257, 8-257, 9-296. Bowling: Zaheer 23-7-83-2, Sreesanth 24-4-109-4, VRV 13-1-60-1, Kumble 28.3-1-62-3, Ganguly 3-1-11-0. India (1st innings) Jaffer c De Villiers b Ntini 26 Sehwag c De Villiers b Nel 0 Dravid lbw Nel 11 Sachin not out 46 Laxman not out 10 Extras (lb-6, w-1, nb-3) 10 Total (3 wkts, 38.4 overs) 103 Fall of wickets: 1-5, 2-35, 3-61. Bowling: Nel 12-2-26-2, Ntini 8-4-12-1, Morkel 6-0-33-0, Pollock 8.4-6-6-0, Hall 4-0-20-0.
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Ishant not to fly to SA: Vengsarkar
Mumbai, December 27 On a day of flip-flops when the BCCI first said that the 18-year-old Delhi fast bowler would leave for South Africa on December 31, prompting even a happy reaction from the paceman himself, came the final word from the Chairman of Selectors Dilip Vengsarkar. Vengsarkar, currently in South Africa, said it had been decided finally to allow Sharma to concentrate on domestic cricket for the moment. “Initially Ishant was being considered to be drafted into the Indian squad. However, considering his Ranji Trophy schedule for Delhi, it has now been decided not to have him fly down to Cape Town and instead, allow him to concentrate in his domestic first class matches,” he said in a statement. Ishant was being considered as a replacement for an out of form Irfan Pathan who will head back for home tomorrow morning, taking a flight to Mumbai via Johannesburg. — PTI
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Dalmiya resigns from CAB
Kolkata, December 27 Mr Dalmiya today sent in his resignation to the two joint secretaries with a copy of the resignation to the BCCI chief, Mr Sharad Pawar. Mr Dalmiya had been dismissed for life from the BCCI at its recent meeting at Jaipur for his gross financial irregularities during his tenure as BCCI chief. Accordingly, Mr Dalmiya was asked to quit the CAB after the BCCI's decision at Jaipur. But Mr Dalmiya was reluctant and instead, he decided to seek legal protection. However, today on the eve of the CAB's meeting, Mr Dalmiya resigned from the CAB. It was uncertain about his successor but Mr Dalmiya desired that Mr Bishwanath Dutt could be persuaded to take the responsibility of heading the CAB till the next election in July. But Mr Dalmiya's proposal might not be acceptable to the opponents who might again field Mr Prasun Mukherjee, the Kolkata police chief as their candidate for the CAB president, which he had lost only by four votes to Mr Dalmiya in the last election.
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Flashback Cricket
Contrary to popular perception, India had a reasonably good year as they made history by registering their maiden Test series triumph in the West Indies and are on the verge of an encore in South Africa.
In the aftermath of the one-day series defeat in South Africa, Indian fans forgot that it was the same team that registered a world-record 17 successive ODI wins while batting second. Instigated by the media and a few Members of Parliament, fans went berserk in India as the itinerary provided the team virtually no time to acclimatise to the alien South African conditions and pitches that had bounce and speed. The result was a 0-4 loss, before India’s revival of fortunes began with their maiden Test victory on South Africa soil. Since public perception and focus is more on the popular one-dayers, achievements in Test cricket are generally overshadowed. In Tests, India’s record was much better then ODIs. They played 11 matches, won three and lost two, while six were drawn. The year started with a 0-1 series defeat in Pakistan. Captain Dravid and vice-captain Virender Sehwag were involved in a 410-run opening-wicket partnership in the first Test at Lahore, which ended in a tame draw. They fell just four runs short of breaking the world record of India’s Vinoo Mankad and Pankaj Roy, made against New Zealand in Chennai in 1955-56. After the draw in the second Test at Faisalabad, India lost by 341 runs the third one in Karachi despite pacer Irfan Pathan’s sensational hat trick in the very first over at the National Stadium. He dismissed Salman Butt, Younis Khan and Mohammed Yousuf to give India a flying start. But India’s batting failure in the two innings and poor bowling in the second innings meant that Yuvraj Singh’s 122 went waste. In the next series, against England at home, India won the second Test at Mohali by nine wickets, but lost by 212 runs the third and final match in Mumbai to allow Andrew Flintoff’s side to snatch a 1-1 draw. On the tour of the West Indies, India, after the loss in the one-dayers, held an upper hand almost throughout the four-Test series before winning by 49 runs in Kingston to make history. They would have won the four-Test series by a bigger margin had sun and lady luck smiled on them in earlier matches. India next played a Test in South Africa, after more than six months. This gap is one of the reasons why their failure in ODIs became a bigger issue than it would have if the five-day Test matches had been played alongside one-day internationals. India’s performance in ODIs was not as good as in Test cricket, but it was not so bad when seen in the context of the hysterical reactions of fans in the country. The team played 30 one-dayers, won 13, lost 15 and two ended in a “no result”. The last eight of India’s world-record 17 successive wins while chasing came this year, the golden streak having begun in Zimbabwe last year. The fabulous run stretched till the first ODI in Kingston in May, aptly ending with a Dravid century. Among the high points in ODIs was a runaway 4-1 triumph in Pakistan in January-February and the landslide 5-1 win against England in March-April. The English visitors had no clue what suddenly hit them after drawing the Test series as temperatures soared in March-April. India then played a two-ODI series against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi and drew it 1-1, before heading for the West Indies. In the Caribbean, India started well with a five-wicket win in Kingston, but then lost the plot and form. The West Indies, on paper a clearly inferior team than India, won the next four matches to win the series. India were deprived an opportunity to redeem themselves when the Unitech tri-series, also involving South Africa, in Sri Lanka was cancelled because of security reasons. The next destination was Kuala Lumpur. India failed to make it to the final of the rain-affected DLF Cup Triangular Series, while Australia defeated the West Indies in the final to win the title. India’s poor form continued in the Champions Trophy as the hosts failed to make it to the semifinals. After beating England comprehensively in the first match, the 2002 champions lost to the West Indies and Australia and crashed out. The last series of the year was also a loss-making venture. Hosts South Africa proved just too good for India as the visitors got little time to adapt to the local conditions. The loss forced a few knee-jerk reactions from the Indian cricket board. Board chief Sharad Pawar announced that the Selection Committee Chairman Dilip Vengsarkar would go to South Africa for the Test series but his role there was never specified. A few hours after that announcement, Vengsarkar’s panel recalled former captain Sourav Ganguly to bolster the sagging batting line-up in South Africa. They also recalled pacer Zaheer Khan, and both did well in the first Test win at the Wanderers. One offshoot of the win was that it looked like coach Greg Chappell and Ganguly had patched up. Both had fallen apart on that fateful tour of Zimbabwe last year. Ganguly was dropped after the Pakistan tour in January-February. Ganguly, who made an immediate impact in the first Test with a half-century in Johannesburg, played Tests in the first and last month of the year — in between he was dumped for lack of runs. The Indian women’s team also had a good year, and Mithali Raj’s girls signed off by winning their third successive Asia Cup title in Jaipur this month. The men’s national blind team reached the final of the World Cup in Pakistan before losing to the hosts in a repeat of the previous tournament.
— IANS
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Ranji Trophy: Close finish
on cards
Vadodara, December 27 Amit Mishra, the legspinner, led Haryana’s fightback with 4 for 45 in 20 overs and set up an exciting finish. Earlier, Joginder Sharma, with a stroke-filled 65-ball 54, boosted Haryana to 210 in their second innings. Dharmani, Kaul rescue Punjab
Jaipur: Pankaj Dharmani’s fantastic 151, along with Uday Kaul’s painstaking 71, rescued Punjab from dire straits at Jaipur. Punjab were reeling at 61 for 4, chasing Rajasthan’s healthy 332, but Dharmani stitched together a vital 51-run stand with Vipul Sharma before seizing the initiative with Kaul. Dharmani, a master of batting with the tail, cracked 16 fours in his unbeaten knock, while Kaul was the more patient partner, consuming 240 deliveries for his 70. Both were undefeated at the end of the day with the Rajasthan’s lead whittled down to just 21.— Agencies
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Hayden, Symonds put Aussies in control
Melbourne, December 27 Australia, in trouble at 84 for five chasing England's modest first innings of 159, rebounded ferociously with the two Queenslanders pounding the tourists' bowlers in a demoralising 279-run sixth-wicket partnership. At the close, Australia had surged to a commanding 213-run lead at 372 for seven with three days to play. Symonds was unconquered on 154 in 316 minutes and Shane Warne was not out on four. Hayden was finally out nearing stumps for 153, caught behind off Sajid Mahmood and compiled in seven hours off 265 balls with 13 boundaries and two sixes. They were hundreds of contrasting significance, with Hayden taking his 27th to join Allan Border as Australia's fourth-highest century-maker, and Symonds releasing the demons of an unfulfilled Test career. Hayden claimed his first century of the series and continued his fondness for the MCG, scoring his fifth century in eight Tests at the ground to rank with Border as the top-scoring left-hander of Test hundreds for his country. Only current captain Ricky Ponting (33), Steve Waugh (32) and Don Bradman (29) have scored more Test centuries than Hayden in Australian cricket. Meanwhile, Hayden's long-time mate Symonds took 21 cautious balls to get off the mark before clubbing a 151-ball century sealed with a massive six straight over bowler Paul Collingwood's head. He finished the day with 15 boundaries and one six. Symonds, who went to the crease with a mediocre Test average of just 18 in 11 matches, howled with delight and excitedly leapt into Hayden's arms to celebrate his maiden Test century. The breakthrough hundred has probably booked his place in the crack Australian team for the immediate future. Australia, stung by last year's series loss in England, regained the Ashes inside 15 days after winning the opening three Test matches and are trying to emulate Warwick Armstrong team's 5-0 Ashes sweep of 85 years ago. Gilchrist's boom and bust form continued when he was out for one caught in the slips off Mahmood nearing stumps after scoring a blazing unbeaten 102 off 59 balls in Perth. Scoreboard England (1st innings) 159 Australia (1st innings) Langer c Read b Flintoff 27 Hayden c Read b Mahmood 153 Lee c Read b Flintoff 0 Ponting c Cook b Flintoff 7 Hussey b Hoggard 6 Clarke c Read b Hoggard 5 Symonds not out 154 Gilchrist c Collingwood b Mahmood 1Warne not out 4 Extras (lb-6, nb-9) 15 Total (7 wkts, 96 overs) 372 Fall of wickets: 1-44, 2-44, 3-62, 4-79, 5-84, 6-363, 7-365. Bowling: Hoggard 21-6-82-1, Flintoff 22-1-77-3, Harmison 22-5-55-1, Mahmood 15-1-67-2, Panesar 12-1-52-0, Collingwood 3-0-20-0, Pietersen 1-0-13-0. — AFP
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Hockey can still be revived: Saund
Chandigarh, December 27 “We do not need a foreign coach. All we need is a collective effort to pull the sport out of its present mess,” he says. Malkit, who played for Uganda in the 1972 Olympic Games, is currently on a tour of India to take his son, Ravi, and grandchildren not only to his native village in Punjab but also to Sikh shrines. Last night, he was with Balbir Singh Senior, three time Olympic hockey gold medallist, and Sukhvir Grewal, a former international. “He is like my Guru. My happiest moment came some months ago when I and former centre-forward of Kenya, Devinder Singh, were with Mr Balbir Singh Senior in London,” recalls Malkit Singh, who was acknowledged one of the fastest centre-forwards in the Munich Olympic Games. He was the highest goal scorer as well. “I was basically a runner who took to hockey a little late. Though I played for Uganda, I always remained a hardcore fan of Indian hockey. You ask me about any Indian player, I will tell you his real strengths and weaknesses. “Though 1972 was the only time when Uganda played in Olympic hockey, it had perhaps one of the fastest forward lines. I wish I had the head (brain) of Harbinder - former Indian centre forward - or he had my legs, the story would have been different,” feels Malkit who after Munich Olympics, moved and settled in London. Malkit Singh claims that East Africa — Kenya and Uganda — produced more Sikh hockey Olympians than what India did in 60s and 70s. “The African hockey was at one stage totally dependent upon Indian hockey. I remember that Kenya and Uganda used to be the favourite training destinations for the Indian teams prior to their any international tournament. But the story is different now. Not many Sikhs or Punjabis play hockey in East Africa any more,” he adds. Talking about the debacles Indian hockey had suffered during the past some years, Mr Malkit Singh feels that “something is wrong with the selection and training of Indian teams. I can tell you from my experience of playing against India that many of my contemporaries could have never made to Olympics on merit alone. Besides, indiscipline has been the bane of Indian hockey. “Sardar Balbir Singh has always been a great inspiration and it would be a pleasure to volunteer my services with other hockey lovers from both overseas and within India to help the sport. We want to give back what sport has given to us,” adds Malkit Singh.
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Liberals Hockey Ravi Dhaliwal
Nabha, December 27 Jagraon cops downed EME, Jalandhar 5-3 after both teams were locked goalless at the end of regulation time. The cops, who scripted an amazing comeback after being four goals down against Centre of Excellence yesterday, once again showed tremendous resilience when the going got tough to get the better of their opponents. On a bright and sunny day the real shocker came in the form of Punjab State Electricity Board’s (PSEB) somewhat inexplicable defeat against the unheralded Friends Club, Jagraon. The Punjab powermen, who had been given the privilege of being seeded directly into the pre-quarterfinals, went down to Friends Club 0-1 due to absence of a decent gameplan. In other matches, SRC, Ramgarh, outstroked NE Railway, Gorakhpur, 7-6 while Air Force, New Delhi, prevailed over BSF, Jalandhar, 2-1.
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Mohun Bagan in final Kolkata, December 27 Jose Barreto, Favio, Lal Kamal Bhowmick, Dulal Biswas and Dharamjit Singh scored, while Dipendu Biswas was the sole failure for the local giants in the penalty shootout that had to be resorted to as both sides finished 2-2 at the end of regulation time, and the scoreline remained the same even after half an hour of extra time. For Dempo, Beto, Climax Lawrence, Valeriand Rebglo and Nascimento Silvgira found the target, but Joachmin Abranches and Jeri Zirsanga faltered. The drama in the tie-break saw Bagan’s Dipendu miss the second shot, but the two sides became even as Abranches blew over the third penalty for his side. With the first set of penalties finishing 4-4, Zirsanga found the post to open the sudden death on the wrong note, and Dharamjit converted the next penalty to seal Dempo’s fate in the cracker of a semifinal at the Salt Lake stadium.
— PTI
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Vijay eyes Olympic gold
Barsar (Hamirpur), December 27 “I want to qualify for the Olympics and win a gold medal for my country,” said a beaming Subedar Vijay Kumar, who has already become an icon for the youth of the area. While he won one team gold in .22 rapid fire pistol, the other came from winning the .32 centre fire pistol event, along with Jaspal Rana and Samresh Jung. Talking to The Tribune, he said, “India’s performance in this sport has been very encouraging this time and we won a total of 14 medals, which is much more than our tally of a couple of medals He, however, stressed the need for the state governments to take steps to promote shooting by setting up shooting ranges and federations and associations to help in identifying and honing new talent. Subedar Vijay Kumar, who is presently posted in Mohu (Indore) as part of the All-India training team of the Indian Army, said being in the Army gave him the chance to do adequate practice, which helped me win these medals. “Now, I want to buy my own weapons so that I could carry on with the sport even after I retire from the Army,” he said. Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh would honour him in Dharamsala tomorrow.
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Jeev all set to enter Tiger’s den
Chandigarh, December 27 Jeev was in virtual limbo for seven years before he struck a bright patch winning the Volvo China Open in Beijing. This was followed by a coup on the Spanish greens for the Volvo Masters title and back-to-back conquest in Japan. From a pitiable rank of 376, Jeev surged ahead to end 2006 as the 37th ranked player of the world. This world ranking is based on the performance of two years. Going by his performance this year, he stands 13th in the world. Jeev was a little late for a meeting with the media as he had to go for an MRI of his right wrist. “But there is nothing much to worry. I am determined. I have to take the wrist injury in my stride. I will go all out to strengthen my wrist”, said Jeev. He is aware of the pressure ahead. But he is determined to focus on process and routine. This is what has got him the major titles this year. He appeared happy, as he had just received the US Masters invitation to be held in the first week of April. “I will have to keep my emotions in check when I play there. After all it is my dream destination”, he said. After a two-week relaxation, Jeev will set out for the Royal Trophy in Thailand. Then it will be to Abu Dhabi and Qatar. The US tour will begin in the third week of February. It will be 15 tournaments in the USA leading to the US Masters. Jeev is planning to shift base to the USA. “But winters will be in Chandigarh as always”, he added. Talking about the fitness mantra, he said it is yoga six days in a week. Weight training is restricted to three days. He listens to cassettes for positive energy. The new king of Asian golf is all set to enter the territory of Tiger Woods. Jeev is all praise for Tiger. “He is not only a very good player, he is also a very good human being”, he added. The most eligible bachelor on the golf ring does have marriage on his cards. Yes, this 35-year-old golf icon admitted that marriage was on the cards in the near future. An Indian girl, definitely, he added. He skirted a query about the special girl being with him during the Volvo Masters and Japan open triumphs. But one thing is ‘pucca’, he has found his match.
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Chandigarh, December 27 The overall team championship (women) was bagged by Dashmesh Girls, College, Badal, earning 22 points. GGS College for Women, Chandigarh, secured second place with 14 points while Khalsa College for Women, Ludhiana, got third place. — TNS
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Ashutosh sails into last eight
New Delhi, December 27 Ashutosh, who had featured in the first leg as a lucky loser and entered the second round, seems to be improving the every outing. Matches on the third day today extended from morning till evening to complete some of the unfinished first-round matches. As a result, some of the players had to play two singles matches today. And Stephan Amritraj was one of them. Stephan first got a rather easy entry into the second round in the morning when Tushar Liberhan of Chandigarh “retired” after trailing 4-6, 0-3. But he lost to fourth seed Karan Rastogi in the second round and lost 1-6, 5-7. Earlier in the day, Karan Rastogi had easily disposed of Niklas Buct of Finland at 6-3, 6-1 in his unfinished first-round match. Former national hard court champion Sunil Kumar Sipaeya of Chandigarh ran out of his luck against Todor Enev as the Bulgarian won 6-4, 7-6 (3). In other matches, Pierre-Ludoic Duclos of Canada downed wild card Mustafa Ghouse of India 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, qualifier Vinod Sridhar ousted another qualifier Purav Raja 6-2, 7-5, Hsin-Han Lee beat Cyril Hervieux of France 6-2, 5-7, 7-6 (3) while Hyun-Woo Nam of Korea beat Xavier Pujo of France 6-4, 4-4, 6-1.
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