 |
|
|
Mission India: Win series
Aussies tamed on Kiwi land |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Ranji
One-Dayers
J-K trounce Services
Hockey: Punjab men in final
Chopra tied 15th
Sania Mirza gestures during her quarterfinal match against Russia’s Yarolslava Shvedova at the Bangalore Open on Friday. Sania lost 7-6, 4-6, 4-6. — AFP
photo
Obziler, Mara in last four
We need to unearth singles talent: Paes
|
|
Mission India: Win series
Visakhapatnam, February 16 Tendulkar, who had shown glimpses of his vintage form in this series, has been rested because of a stiff back to ensure that he is fully fit before the World Cup. A victory in the crucial game will no doubt serve as a morale booster for the Indians before they embark on the journey to the West Indies for the March-April World Cup. After the shock five-run defeat in the second game in Rajkot, the hosts were far more convincing to record a comfortable five-wicket victory in the third match in Margao and level the four-match series. But despite the improved show, the prolonged form slump of Virender Sehwag has become a worrying factor for the home team and captain Rahul Dravid, who has backed him to the hilt, would be hoping that the Delhi swashbuckler hits form in the important tie. Sehwag has been going through an extremely lean patch and the team management has tried everything to help him find the touch that had made him one of the most destructive batsmen in world cricket. Barring Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh to some extent, most of the other Indian batsmen have got runs under their belt and would be in a positive frame of mind when they go in to bat on what appears to be a good batting strip. It was still not clear whether paceman Irfan Pathan, who sat out of the first three matches of the series because of a sore shoulder, had regained full fitness. Even if the out-of-from bowler has recovered, the team management may not take the risk of fielding him for the decider. India and Sri Lanka are clubbed in the same group for the World Cup and both teams will be seeking to gain some psychological advantage by winning the match, which is expected to attract a capacity crowd. India should not face any difficulty in making the World Cup second stage with the other teams in Group-B being Bangladesh and Bermuda. Yet a win over Sri Lanka will give the team vital points to carry forward. The bowlers, particularly Zaheer Khan, have done a commendable job sticking to a tidy line and length but Indian openers have been a little unpredictable. Opener Robin Uthappa will get another chance to play tomorrow and the top order should show character and discipline. Sri Lanka has a formidable batting line-up and it would be out to prove that its dramatic collapse against India in Goa was just an aberration. Sanath Jayasuriya with his experience can be depended upon to give another fiery start along with Upul Tharanga. Mahela Jayawardene, Marvan Atapattu, Russel Arnold, Kumar Sangakkara and Tillekaratne Dilshan have all made useful contributions with the bat and they will need to fire in unison tomorrow. Statistically, Indian team has an edge over number of wins having defeated the Sri Lankans on 48 occasions in 93 matches, including 24 times against 10 (two no result) in Indian soil.
— PTI
|
|
Aussies tamed on Kiwi land
Wellington, February 16 A five-wicket haul from Shane Bond was backed by an unbroken stand by Stephen Fleming and Lou Vincent who needed just 27 overs to knock off the 149-run target in the first game of the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy series. New Zealand at full strength exposed the inexperience of an Australian side missing Ricky Ponting and Adam Gilchrist by choice, and Andrew Symonds, Michael Clarke and Brett Lee through injury. The makeshift Australians had trouble getting into rhythm with the bat and had particular trouble handling Bond, making 148 all out three balls short of their 50 overs. Then their defence of a low target suffered from wayward bowling and dropped catches. As a result, Vincent cracked 73 from 87 balls and Fleming faced just 76 deliveries for his 70 as they produced a record opening stand for New Zealand and the first century from a New Zealand opening partnership in 22 years. Australia’s woes were summed up late in the New Zealand innings when Vincent took off his gloves and began walking from the pitch, certain he was going to be caught after he top-edged a pull shot. But he had to be called back by Fleming as a communication mix-up meant neither the bowler Mitchell Johnson nor the close-in fielder Brad Hodge were able to reach the simple chance. It was a rare third successive loss for Australia, after losing two in a row to England in their recent home tri-series finals, and their first-ever 10-wicket hiding. Stand-in captain Mike Hussey described the defeat as demoralising for Australia, who need to win the three-match series to defend their top ranking from South Africa. New Zealand captain Fleming, who won the toss and put Australia in to bat under overcast skies, said man-of-the-match Bond set up the victory. Scoreboard
Australia Hayden c Fleming b Gillespie 14 Jaques c Vettori b Bond 1 Haddin b Bond 6 Hussey c Taylor b McMillan 42 Hodge c Fleming b Vettori 22 White c and b Bond 13 Watson c Bond b Vettori 8 Hogg b Bond 20 Johnson c Oram b Gillespie 8 Bracken b Bond 0 McGrath not out 5 Extras
(b-1, lb-2, w-5, nb-1) 9 Total (all out, 49.3 overs) 148 Fall of wickets:
1-3, 2-16, 3-45, 4-86, 5-98,
6-108, 7-120, 8-133, 9-133. Bowling: Tuffey 8-0-29-0, Bond 9.3-23-5, Oram 10-0-22-0, Gillespie 9-0-27-2, Vettori 9-1-26-2, Styris 2-0-15-0, McMillan 2-0-3-1. New Zealand Vincent not out 73 Fleming not out 70 Extras
(lb-3, w-2, nb-1) 6 Total (no loss, 27 overs) 149 Bowling:
McGrath 6-1-23-0, Bracken 7-1-30-0, Johnson 8-0-49-0, Watson 4-0-28-0, Hogg
2-0-16-0. — AFP
|
|
Delhi undone by batting collapse
Gopal Sharma Tribune News Service
Mohali, February 16 Delhi openers Akash Chopra and Gautam Gambhir saw off the initial spells from new ball bowlers Gagandeep Singh, Amit Uniyal and V.R.V Singh. While Chopra was his usual circumspect self, Gambhir was more enterprising. He was particularly strong on the off side and played some scintillating strokes. Rock solid in defence, Chopra did not lose out on any opportunity to score runs. The two kept the momentum going and Delhi looked well on course. Delhi boat was rocked by a superb piece of fielding by Uday Kaul. Kaul showed remarkable agility to run out a well-set Gambhir to get the first breakthrough to his team. A direct hit resulted in the run out of Gambhir. The introduction of spin duo of Bipul Sharma and Dinesh Mongia spelled misery for Delhi. Both bowled with immense control as Delhi lost a couple of wickets in a jiffy. Gagandeep Singh then returned to claim crucial breakthroughs while lanky fast bowler VRV also got two wickets as Delhi were bowled out for 218 runs. Mongia showed his all round abilities as a left-arm bowler and scalped two wickets. Bipul and Gagandeep also got two wickets each. Punjab, who batted first, were bolstered by a fine knock of 84 runs by left-handed batsman Karan Goel. The batsman paced his innings well and hit six fours and two lusty sixes in 110-ball knock. Mongia was also in fine nick and notched up run-a-ball 37. Uday Kaul and VRV provided the late thrust to the innings, enabling their side put up a decent total on the board. While Kaul hit 48-ball 35, VRV clobbered 23 in 15 deliveries. For Delhi seamer Kunal Lall and spinners Mithun Manhas and A. Bali got two wickets each. With this victory Punjab got four points. Punjab will now clash with Services at the same venue, while Delhi now travel to Patiala and face Haryana on February 18. Meanwhile, the match between Haryana and Himachal Pradesh at the Sector 16 Cricket Stadium in Chandigarh was call off due to wet field. The incessant rain that lashed the region during the past five days had left wet patches on outfield and the wicket. The umpires, after frequent inspections of the ground, finally called off the match at 1.40 pm. Both teams got two points each. Brief
scores
|
|
J-K trounce Services
Patiala, February 16 Chasing J&K’s 147 for eight, Services, who at one time were on the mat at 11 for five, finally were all out for a meagre 93. It was an utterly inept display put up by Services as their batting crumbled like the proverbial pack of cards with eight of their batsmen failing to reach double figures. The only positives Services could draw from their innings were cameo knocks by Imran Khan (31) and Sarabjit Singh (22). For J&K medium pacer Abid Nabi bowled with a lot of fire and ended up with figures of four for 21. Nabi, unlike the Services bowlers, used the conditions to his advantage and moved the ball both ways to have the rival batsman hopping like cats on a hot tin roof. For their efforts, J&K bagged five points, including a
bonus point. Brief scores
|
|
Lions steal the show Chandigarh, February 16 The Steelers opened their account in the 10th minute through a penalty corner. Skipper Dilip Tirkey’s hit deflected off Ignace Tirkey’s (Bangalore Lions) stick and settled in the net. The Lions took control of the proceedings in the second quarter. They notched the equaliser in the 30th minute through Sandeep Michael. Within six minutes, Orissa Steelers took the lead again. However, the lead was short-lived with Lions forcing a penalty corner in the 40th minute to draw level. Len Aiyappa flicked a powerful grounder that left Orissa custodian Salman Akbar stranded. The Lions took the lead in the 42nd minute. In the 58th minute, Sandeep Michael found the net again. Orissa pulled one back in the very next minute through Sunil
Ekka.
|
|
Hockey: Punjab men in final
Services proved far too strong for Assam and pumped in two goals within the first seven minutes of the game. With short passes and brisk pace, Services completely outplayed Assam. Assam, who had created a flutter defeating Punjab in the league stage, were off colour and Services scored the three goals before the lemon break. In the second semifinal, Orissa never gave Punjab any free opportunity. Despite some delightful skill play by the Orissa forwards, goal remained elusive. Satbinder Singh of Punjab scored the winner in the ninth minute of the second half. Cycling: Gurpreet pockets gold Punjab’s Gurpreet Kaur gave a fine display of endurance to win the women’s road mass start cycling gold medal here today. Gurpreet finished the gruelling 60 km women’s race in an hour, 50 minutes and 15 seconds to leave her competitors behind at the Rupnath Brahma Velodrome and Pavilion. Hosts’ favourite Bina Kumari won the silver while Manipur’s G Geetanjali Devi bagged the bronze. Delhi eves win water polo gold Kerala and Delhi clinched the gold in the men’s and women’s water polo, respectively, at the games here today. Delhi defeated Kerala in the women’s finals in a closely fought match by 9-7. The Bronze in the event was won by Maharashtra yesterday.
In the men’s final, Kerala beat Services by 10-7. The bronze in men’s water polo went to
Bengal. Haryana boxers shine Haryana bagged three gold medals so far in the boxing event. In the 60 kg section, Haryana’s Jai Bhagwan won the gold beating Services K T Singh. Haryana’s Jitendra comprehensively beat Ashwini Kumar of Punjab in the 51 kg category to win the gold. The 54 kg category saw Nabjit Singh of Haryana beat Mohan Singh of Nagaland to claim the gold.
— UNI, PTI
|
|
Chopra tied 15th
California, February 16 Chopra was lying tied 15th as the leader was Padraig Harrington playing his first Nissan Open. Harrington shot a eight-under 63. Chopra opened with birdies on first two holes before dropping a shot on sixth, but he picked up a birdie on seventh. A double bogey on ninth saw him turn in even par and a bogey on tenth sent him over par. However, Chopra fought back with birdies on 11th, 12th and 17th to end the day two-under 69. Kapur slips
Jakarta: Gaurav Ghei recovered from a couple of dropped strokes to play a creditable two-under 69 round two under tough conditions and move up to a tied third position at the $1.05 million Indonesia Open here today. Meanwhile, overnight tied third, Shiv Kapur was erratic as he mixed five bogeys and three birdies to return a poor two-over 73 card. Kapur’s eventful second round saw him dropping down to tied 18th spot which he shares with, among others, compatriot SSP Chowrasia. The Kolkatan was one-over after 15 holes when play was stopped. Among other Indians in the fray, Amandeep Johl and Rahil Gangjee were hardly impressive and were poised to miss the cut.
— PTI, UNI
|
|
Sania bows out
Bangalore, February 16 The gorgeous 19-year-old Shvedova, who was meeting Sania for the first time, dumped the home favourite 6-7, 6-4, 6-4 in the $175,000 prize money event. Making her debut appearance in this event which is also her first main draw Tour event of the season, Shvedova did not appear to be ranked 143 as she jolted the 46th ranked Indian coming through when the chips were down and fighting well to serve out the match in two hours seven minutes. Earlier, reigning champion and top seed Mara Santangelo of Italy stormed into the semifinals with an authoritative win after the oldest player competing here, the 33-year-old Tzipora Obziler of Israel, proved that age is no bar as she broke into the a career-first top-100 ranking en route to the semifinals. The 36th ranked Mara defeated 237th ranked Yurika Sema 6-1, 6-4 while Obziler defeated Hungry’s Melinda Czink 6-4, 7-6.
— PTI
|
||||||
|
Obziler, Mara in last four
Bangalore, February 16 Obziler, ranked 117, gave packing order to Czink in a match that lasted 105 minutes. Czink, ranked 97, who had defeated sixth seed Yung-Jan Chan of Chinese Taipei in straight sets in the first round and Su-Wei Hsieh also of Taipei in the second round, failed to maintain her tempo. After losing the first set, she succeeded in stretching the second set to tie-breaker, but an unrelenting 33-year-old Oblizer won the set and stormed into the last four stage. In the other quarterfinal match, defending champion Santangelo did not find resistance from qualifier Sema and wrapped up the game in 70 minutes in straight sets.
— UNI
|
||||||
|
We need to unearth singles talent: Paes
Jaipur, February 16 India, who were consistently reaching the World Group play-off a couple of years ago, are staring at relegation from Group 1 in the Asia-Oceania zone. The unfortunate turn of things was a result of Mahesh Bhupathi all but announcing his retirement from Cup ties and the last-minute withdrawal of Rohan Bopanna beside the injury to Prakash Amritraj. India’s rookie talent Karan Rastogi and Vivek Shokeen failed to win their singles matches while the doubles victory by Paes and Sunil Kumar Sipaeya was the only point that the team could snatch from Uzbekistan. Paes said there was no dearth of talent in the country and the immediate task was to mould the fresh crop into strong singles players. “We have a few more options in doubles (besides Sipaeya) with guys like Somdev Dev Varman and Rupesh Roy around but it is singles which always has troubled us,” Paes, who was here for the 15th Kailshankar Durlabhji Memorial Oration 2007, said.
— PTI
|
||||||
Another notice to Nimbus Holyfield to fight again College hockey Robin Singh
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
With the one-day cricket series tanta- lisingly poised at 1-1, India’s ability to perform in a crunch situation will be
test- ed when they go into the series decider against Sri Lanka here tomorrow without the services of Sachin Tendulkar.
