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Ranji Trophy
Batsmen did us in: Vengsarkar
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Pakistan recall Shoaib
SL insurance firm denies ‘terror’ claim
Punjab hockey league to
kick off on January 11
PHL
Shers tame Lions
JCT take on Mohun Bagan today
Sania Mirza storms into quarters
High-powered panel to review working of NIS
Winter Olympics: Bains flays BC government
Haryana to spend Rs 80 cr on sports
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Ranji Trophy
Hyderabad, January 9 Dinesh Mongia, V.R.V Singh, Harbhajan Singh, R.S. Sodhi and Gagandeep Singh are some of the big names in the Punjab side who would test Hyderabad’s skills. Anirudh Singh, T. Suman, Shashank Nag and Arjun Yadav, besides Laxman, will be the batting main stay while D. Vinay Kumar has his experience to contribute towards a good score for the hosts. Wicketkeeper Ibrahim Khaleel has been in good form behind the wickets and also with the bat and could score some useful runs in the lower order. Speedster M.P. Arjun, who made his mark in his debut, should be looking for wickets along with his new ball partner P.I.S Reddy, while youngster Alfred Absolom and Pragyan Ojha have picked up wickets regularly during the season. Youngster DB Ravi Teja have been benched to make room for Laxman. For Punjab, openers Karan Goel and Ranvit Ricky are in good form while Lav Abhilash, Isha Malhotra, Harbhajan Singh and V.R.V. Singh would be keen to give their best in the high voltage match. Sehwag looks to find form
Rohtak: Virender Sehwag will look to come out of a prolonged form slump as well as keep Delhi in the Elite Division when he leads the team in the last Ranji Trophy Super League match against Haryana starting here tomorrow. The beleaguered batsman’s place as opener in the Indian team has come under pressure following a prolonged form slump and the tie might be his last chance to prove his credentials. The swashbuckling right-hander will also need to carry the team’s hopes of preserving its place in the Elite Division to ensure which it needs to grab the first innings lead. Delhi have eight points while Haryana have seven in Group ‘A’ which is topped by Baroda (17) followed by Karnataka (15). Tamil Nadu and defending champions Uttar Pradesh, with four points each, are in the drop zone but an outright win with a bonus point, against Baroda and Andhra (12), respectively, could see them make the great escape. Delhi will also see the return of Gautam Gambhir who was in the Test squad for the recent South Africa tour. The left-hander acknowledged that there were always “nerves” ahead of an important match. “There are nerves. But we are not looking for just the first innings lead. We have not won a match this season although we have done well. We want to win this one and end the year on a positive note,” he said. Gambhir said he was not disappointed at not being considered as an opener for the third Test in which wicketkeeper Dinesh Kaarthick, who came in for the injured Mahendra Singh Dhoni, launched the proceedings for India while Sehwag came down the order. “Every player has to go by the team’s gameplan and its decision,” the 25-year-old said. —
PTI
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Batsmen did us in: Vengsarkar
Mumbai, January 9 Returning home a day after Team India had come back after losing both the ODI and Test series, Vengsarkar said, ''I think the batting really collapsed there. Batting was our strong point but they really messed it up.'' India lost the one-dayers 4-0 and the Tests 2-1 even though they managed their lone Test win in South Africa at Johannesburg. Apart from Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman to some extent, no other Indian batsmen could do justice to their reputation in South Africa and BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah has also openly criticised the batsmen. Asked if there would be large-scale chopping-and-dropping exercise before the twin home series against West Indies and Sri Lanka, a non-committal Vengsarkar said, ''I really don't know what will happen. We are meeting on January 12 and will decide it there.'' Asked about the logic behind playing an injured Munaf Patel in the third Test ahead of offie Harbhajan Singh, who spent the entire series as a bench-warmer, Vengsarkar said, ''You may say a lot of things in hindsight, which I really do not believe in.''
— UNI
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Rampant Aussies crush England
Sydney, January 9 Australia’s batsmen went on the rampage, piling up 221 for five to eclipse the previous international record of 214 for five they set against New Zealand in Auckland in 2005. England replied with 144 for nine, narrowly avoiding the heaviest defeat in the short history of Twenty20 internationals. “We wanted to win and play as well as we could but it was just a bit of fun,” Australia captain Ricky Ponting told a news conference. “I enjoy playing this form of the game but it’s best played when there's not a lot riding on it.” The home team belted 15 fours and 14 sixes, Adam Gilchrist (48) and Ponting (47) sharing a 69-run partnership for the second wicket off 29 balls. Man-of-the-match Cameron White (40 not out) and Andrew Symonds (39 not out) also added an unbroken 66 in less than six overs. Gilchrist, who scored a hundred off 57 balls in the test series, bludgeoned two fours and five sixes including three maximums in a row off James Anderson. England paceman Anderson conceded 64 runs in his four overs. “We went out there to win tonight and it’s disappointing we lost but sometimes you just have to accept you’re playing against a powerful team,” said England skipper Michael Vaughan. That was some of the best hitting you'll ever see, some of their sixes were clearing the ropes by 40 yards. When you're playing the best team in the world in their own backyard, you have to expect it's going to be hard...and once they made 221 it was always going to be tough.'' Ponting smacked three fours and two sixes while opener Matthew Hayden made a brisk 20 and the versatile Mike Hussey chipped in with 18. Spinner Monty Panesar was the best of England's bowlers, dismissing Gilchrist and Hussey in a four-over spell that cost 40 runs. England's hopes of winning were over almost as soon as they began their reply, Irish opener Ed Joyce dismissed for one and Andrew Flintoff for a duck three days after he lost the captaincy to Vaughan. Vaughan erased major concerns about his fitness with 27 off 21 balls but England's comparatively slow scoring left them well behind the run-rate. Paul Nixon struck the only six of the innings in the last over while James Dalrymple top-scored with 32 off 27. Australia and England will be joined by New Zealand in a month-long triangular one-day series starting in Melbourne on Friday.
Scoreboard Australia Gilchrist b Panesar 48 Hayden c Dalrymple b Anderson 20 Ponting c Lewis b Collingwood 47 Hussey st Nixon b Panesar 18 Symonds not out 39 Clarke run out 5 White not out 40 Extras (w-2, lb-2) 4 Total (5 wkts, 20 overs) 221 Fall of wickets: 1-28, 2-97, 3-123, 4-149, 5-155. Bowling: Flintoff 4-0-36-0, Anderson 4-0-64-1, Panesar 4-0-40-2, Lewis 3-0-31-0, Dalrymple 1-0-12-0, Collingwood 4-0-36-1. England Joyce c Hussey b Bracken 1 Vaughan lbw Symonds 27 Flintoff c White b Harwood 0 Pietersen run out 11 Bell b Hilfenhaus 22 Collingwood c White b Hilfenhaus 5 Nixon not out 31 Dalrymple lbw Symonds 32 Lewis c Gilchrist b White 1 Panesar run out 1 Anderson not out 1 Extras (nb-1, w-6, b-4, lb-1) 12 Total (9 wkts, 20 overs) 144 Fall of wickets: 1-3, 2-5, 3-32, 4-54, 5-68, 6-78, 7-127, 8-129, 9-138. Bowling: Bracken 3-0-20-1, Harwood 4-0-44-1, Hilfenhaus 4-0-16-2, Symonds 4-0-24-2, Hogg 3-0-24-0, White 2-0-11-1.
— Reuters
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Rain ruins series decider
Hamilton, January 9 The 37-year-old Sri Lankan opener was credited with his 375th one-day appearance despite the abandonment, moving clear of India’s Sachin Tendulkar with whom he was previously tied. New Zealand umpire Billy Bowden was also deemed to have officiated in his 100th limited-overs international, becoming the eighth umpire in cricket history to do so. He joins David Shepherd and Dave Orchard of England, Rudi Koertzen of South Africa, Steve Bucknor of the West Indies, Australians Daryl Harper and Darrell Hair and The abandonment of the match left the series tied 2-2 and increased a deadlock between the teams in three series this season. Their two Test series was tied 1-1 and a two-match Twenty20 series was also shared. New Zealand leaves later this week for Australia, where it will participate in a limited-overs tri-series with the home nation and England.
— AP
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Pakistan recall Shoaib
Karachi, January 9 The selectors, who had earlier sidelined Akhtar on the grounds that he was not match fit, issued an SOS to him after seamer Umar Gul was ruled out of the first two Tests with an ankle injury. The first Test starts in Johannesburg from January 11. A senior official of the Pakistan board (PCB) confirmed that Akhtar would be flying out to Johannesburg to join the team at the request of the team management. “He has been sent purely on the request of the team management who were worried after the spate of injury problems in the team,” the official said. He said the team management wanted either Akhtar or Shabbir Ahmed as back-up for Gul. “The selectors decided to send Akhtar as he has bowled well in the domestic matches,” the official said. Akhtar appeared in just one first-class match of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy since not being selected for the South African Test series by the selectors who said he lacked match fitness since being cleared off a doping charge and having a long-term ban set aside by an appeals tribunal of the board. Akhtar and Mohammad Asif, who has been included for the South Africa tour, had tested positive for a banned substance in October and were then banned in November before being cleared to play again. Akhtar’s only first-class appearance since the team left for South Africa was against a weak opposition,
Abbotabad, playing its first season in the grade one competition. — PTI
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SL insurance firm denies ‘terror’ claim
Colombo, January 9 A tri-nation series involving India, South Africa and the hosts was cancelled in Colombo last August when the Proteas abandoned the tour and flew home after the explosion, which was suspected to have been linked to Tamil Tigers rebels. Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) claimed compensation from the Ceylinco Insurance Company on its "sports cancellation and abandonment policy' worth 11.9 million dollars, signed before the series. But Ceylinco director Jagath Alwis told AFP on Tuesday that the claim was not valid because bad weather had prevented the first two matches from being played before the South Africans flew home, despite the authorities taking out insurance for acts of terrorism.
— AFP |
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Punjab hockey league to
kick off on January 11
Chandigarh, January 9 Addressing a press conference here today, Punjab Sports Director Pargat Singh said two leagues would be conducted. Twenty teams have been divided into A and B Leagues. Groupings in the leagues have been done on the basis of the standard of the teams. The teams have been further divided into groups for league phase. Two teams from each pool will qualify for the semi-finals. Detailing the programme, which would be an annual affair, he informed that Ferozepur XI, Jharkhar Hockey Academy, Grewal Hockey Academy Kila Raipur, Mehta Gurukul Hockey Academy Doraha, Mithapur Hockey Academy have been clubbed in Group A of B League. The Group 2 will consist of Khambra Hockey Academy, Amloh XI, Sahib Dass Hockey Academy Sangrur, Khera Hockey Academy , Khusropur Hockey Academy. The top teams of Punjab will feature in A League to be conducted from January 17 to 23. Senior Model School PAU Ludhiana, Maharaja Ranjit Singh Academy Amritsar, Cheema Hockey Academy Batala, Hawks Academy Ropar and Sarnih Hockey Academy have been placed in Group 3. Surjit Hockey Academy Jalandhar, Gopal Hockey Academy Kurali, Baba Bakala XI, Khalsa Collegiate Senior Secondary School Amritsar and Baba Farid Hockey Academy Faridkot are in Group 4. Terming the concept of the Punjab Hockey League as a platform for the youngsters to show their competitive skills, Pargat Singh further informed that a selection committee headed by Col Balbir Singh has been constituted and its members would identify the talented players. “A pool of 50 to 60 players will be created for specialised coaching from time to time,” he said. Hardip Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Amar Singh, SS Grewal, Ripudaman, Gurdev Singh and Avtar Singh, all well known hockey stars of Punjab, are members of the selection committee. Manmohan Mishra has been appointed Chief Technical Delegate. Olympians Hardip Singh and Ramandeep Singh will form the Jury of Appeal. Olympian Surkhvir Singh Grewal is the Chief Coordinator. Grewal said the opening match of B League would be played between Ferozepur XI and Grewal Hockey Academy Kila Raipur. The other matches billed for the inaugural day will be Jharkhar Hockey Academy vs Mithapur Hockey Academy, Khambra Hockey Academy vs Sahib Dass Hockey Academy and Amloh XI and Khusropur Hockey Academy. As in incentive to encourage the players, the participants will be provided playing kits and track suits. About their future programme, Pargat Singh said, “From next year, under-16 league matches would be conducted.”
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PHL
Chennai, January 9 While Shakeel Abbasi scored in the 30th and 55th minutes for the Sultans, the Maratha Warriors found the target through Imran Warsi in the 45th minute. The Pakistani pair of Tariq Aziz and Abbasi were instrumental in breaking the deadlock on the half-hour mark. Aziz’s well-schemed forward pass was accepted by Abbasi, who moved in before dodging goalkeeper Adrian D’Souza to sound the boards. However, Warriors were on level terms within 15 minutes through Warsi, who struck through a penalty corner. Abbasi threatened to score but his powerful drive from the right was well saved by D’Souza. The rebounder was taken by Dutchman Sabestian Wester but the defenders erred in conceding a penalty corner. There was a melee after the shot was taken and the ball moved from right to left before coming back to Abbasi, who grabbed the opportunity to divert the ball into an unattended net. — PTI |
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Chennai, January 9 Gagan Ajit was at his best under the lights at the Mayor Radhakrishnan stadium as he scored off passes from team-mates Baljit Dhillon and Don Prins. After his first goal in the eighth minute through a reverse hit, he went on to score in the 23rd and 30th minutes and was also instrumental in his team’s second goal in the ninth minute as Don Prins relayed his cross to Tejbir Singh who shot into Bangalore Lions’ Sabu Varkey reduced the margin in the 44th minute following a Hari Prasad pass. In the 45th minute, Dutchman Prins, dived to deflect in a Baljit Dhillon cross into an unattended goal. Their seventh goal came when Yundhvir Singh sounded the boards following a Prins cross from the right. Sher-e-Jalandhar have now tallied seven points from three matches, while Bangalore Lions have four from three matches.
— PTI
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JCT take on Mohun Bagan today
Amardeep Bhattal Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, January 9 After a disappointing lung opener against Mohammedan Sporting in New Delhi last week, JCT will seek to notch up valuable points in their quest for lost glory. Incidentally, it was way back in 1996-97 that the mill men had won the coveted title. Ever since, they have been confined to the middle rungs although a saving grace is the fact that they are among the three clubs to have figured in every edition of the NFL. For Mohun Bagan, winners of the title thrice, and more recently as champions in the Federation Cup, the stakes are high. Not only do they have to prove that the title win in the Federation Cup and second place finish in the IFA Shield was no fluke, the green and maroon brigade also have to defend their reputation as the country's leading outfit. JCT, under chief coach Sukhwinder Singh and his deputy, Parminder Singh, have undergone an overhaul this season. Sunday Ambrose, Adebayo Tokunbo, and Edeh Chidi are the new foreign recruits of whom Chidi from Ivory Coast has already proved his worth by taking JCT into the final of the Durand Cup in November. Chidi, who assisted Sporting Clube de Goa last year, struck a lethal combination with Dudu Omagbemi for the Goans last season. As such, he is expected to hold the spotlight again for JCT as seen in the Durand Cup and assisting him upfront will be striker Parveen Kumar and team-mates Sunil Chhetri and Rennedy Singh. Incidentally, it was off Rennedy's free kick that JCT took the lead against Mohammedan Sporting in the inaugural match only to surrender it later. Mohun Bagan, who last won the NFL in 2001-2002, did not make much of an impact in their opening tie against HAL SC at Bangalore on January 6. Having emerged from a brief period of uncertainty after coach Biswajit Bhattacharya quit following the team's semifinal defeat in the Durand Cup, the goal-less draw against HAL left interim coach Robson frustrated. Despite boasting of a lethal forward line comprising Brazilian Jose Ramirez Barreto and Indian captain Baichung Bhutia, Bagan failed to garner full points. However, this does not mean that the former champions do not possess enough ammunition. The defence line comprising Dulal Biswas, Deepak Mondal, Sanjeev Maria and Brazilian recruit Fabio Cortez Vidal appears strong, with former international Sangram Mukherjee defending the goal intelligently. Another Brazilian defender, Eduardo Coelho, is also waiting in the wings after suffering an injury. JCT, in fact have their task cut out. They not only have to check the marauding Baichung Bhutia and Jose Barreto but will have to maintain constant pressure to achieve a breakthrough. Complacency even for short durations can prove fatal since the most lethal strike force will be on the prowl. With former international Kalyan Chaubey donning the goalkeeper's jersey, and defenders Baldeep Singh, Harpreet Singh and Daljit Singh ready to blunt the rival attack, it remains to be seen whether Barreto and Bhutia can really pose danger to the mill men. When the two teams met in the NFL in Ludhiana last year, JCT lost by a solitary goal scored by Coelho although the away match at Kolkata was won by the mill men by a 2-0 margin. The kick-off is at 2 pm.
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Sania Mirza storms into quarters
Hobart, January 9 Wild card Sania matched her higher-ranked opponent point by point in the first set to go down 6-7 in the tie-breaker. But, the 20-year-old Hyderabadi, ranked 65th now, roared back in the next two sets to wrap up the match in one hour forty minutes, hitting ferocious forehand winners and forced her world number 52nd rival commit unforced errors. In the second set, Sania broke the Italian in the second game and went on to win the set 6-3 to take the tie to the decider. The Indian became even more attacking in the decider and did not even lose a game to decimate her opponent 6-0. Sania will next meet the winner of the match between her doubles partner Alicia Molik of Australia - ranked much lower to her - or sixth seeded and Alona Bondarenko of Ukraine in the last eight stage of the $145,000 tier IV hardcourt event. In the doubles, Sania and Molik will play either Polish/Italian pair of Marta Domachowska and and Roberta Vinci or Italian/Argentine duo of Maria Elena Camerin and and Gisela Dulko. The Indo-Australian pair had beaten Bonderenko sisters Alona and Kateryna of Ukraine 7-6 (6), 6-1 in their opening match. Paes, Bhupathi advance
Sydney: Estranged partners Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi kicked off their campaign in style with straight set wins to reach the second round of the $436,000 Sydney International here today. Fourth seeded Paes and his Czech team-mate Martin Damm downed Lukas Dlouhy and Paul Vizner of Czech Republic 7-6 (2), 6-2, while Bhupathi and his French comrade-in-arms Fabrice Santoro got the better of the Israeli duo of Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram 6-4, 6-3. Paes and Damm took time to settle into their rhythm and though their rivals managed to stretch the first set to tie-breaker, the Indo-Czech duo raised their game when it mattered and had no problem in staving off the challenge from their Czech rivals. Bhupathi and Santoro, on the other hand, did not play perfect tennis and the lack of coordination was occasionally visible. Despite that, they proved far more superior to Erlich and Ram and had little problem in chalking out a facile, straight set win. In the second round, the Paes-Damm pair will cross swords with Ashley Fisher (Australia) and Tripp Phillips (USA), while the Bhupathi-Santoro duo locks horn with third seeds Paul Hanley of Australia and the latter’s Zimbabwean companion Kevin Ullyett.
— UNI
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High-powered panel to review working of NIS
Patiala, January 9 The changes and other recommendations, as suggested by the committee, will be implemented in the 11th five year plan. The 12-member committee, which is headed by Prof Moolchand Sharma, Vice Chairman of the University Grants Commission (UGC), also has former India hockey captain Ajit Pal Singh and Dronacharya awardee Mr JS Saini, considered to be the doyen among Indian athletic coaches and who is the Chairman of the NIS-2020 Vision programme.
— OSR
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Winter Olympics: Bains flays BC Government
Chandigarh, January 9 “Against a projected expenditure of 600 million dollars on creating infrastructure for the Olympics, the government has already spent more than 2 billion dollars, almost three times than the initial estimate,” says Mr Bains, who is currently in Chandigarh. “The British Columbia government is trying to conceal expenditure by diverting spending to different ministries and departments. For example making a new road for reaching a venue will be shown as expenditure of the Ministry of Roads. Similarly, three municipalities which will host the Olympic events - Vancouver, Richmond and Whistler - will be spending tax payers in money far in excess of the initial estimate to create the infrastructure,” he adds. Mr Bains, who moved to Canada in 1971 after his schooling and initial college education in Ramgarhia School and College in Phagwara, says that he forced the government to admit in the Provincial Legislature that it had already spent about 2 billion dollars. Even the Auditor-General of British Columbia, which is an independent agency headed by government’s hand picked man, has reported that 2.5 billion dollars have already been spent and the total budget on creation of infrastructure would touch 4.3 billion dollar mark. “We all welcome holding of Olympics but it should not leave us with debts which our future generations have to clear. For example, the debt left behind by holding of summer Olympics in Montreal in 1976 was finally cleared only last month,” adds Mr Bains. Mr Bains, who represents NDP - the main Opposition party, which improved its position from two seats in 2002 to 33 in 2005 - says that the Liberal government in British Columbia was yet to come out with the Business Plan which it had promised to release in 2005. “It would be this plan which would give exact details of holding of winter Olympics. Though the government hopes that winter Olympics will give a big boost to economy by promoting tourism and related industry, it expects an income of only 1.8 billion dollars from the mega event”. Mr Bains also finds some similarities in economies of British Columbia and Punjab. “It is strikingly similar as they intend to suit and benefit the rich, widening the gap between the rich and the poor. |
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Haryana to spend Rs 80 cr on sports
Sirsa, January 9 This was stated by the Haryana Minister for Industries, Mr Lachhman Dass Arora, here yesterday. He was speaking at the concluding ceremony of a kabaddi tournament organised by Sardar Amarjit Singh Sports Club at Moriwala village in the district. The minister asserted that apart from developing industries, business and agriculture, the government was committed to promote sports. "The medallists of Doha Asiad are being presented with substantial cash rewards so as to encourage more youth of the state to join the field of sports," he maintained.
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