Kingston (Jamaica), March 13
Hosts West Indies won the opening World Cup match by 54 runs after Dwayne Smith tormented Pakistan with both bat and ball in Group D at Sabina Park today.

The 23-year-old all-rounder smashed a quickfire 32 from 15 balls to help West Indies reach a competitive total of 241 for nine after their innings looked to be running out of momentum following the departure of Marlon Samuels for 63.

Smith was similarly menacing with the ball, taking three key Pakistan wickets for 36 runs, including their dangerous captain Inzamam-ul-Haq for 36.

Pakistan finally capitulated at 187 all out. Shoaib Malik top-scored for them and was last out for 62.

The West Indies, buoyed by supportive spectators, were certain to ensnare the curtain raising contest in the 9th World Cup after Pakistan had collapsed to 144 for seven in 41 overs in pursuit of 242 for victory. A required run rate of nearly 10 an over was, realistically, impossible to achieve.

Pakistan sorely missed an extra seamer, an option the injured Abdul Razzaq would have provided. The instability at the top of their order also persisted. Imran Nazir spectacularly spooned the first ball of his team’s reply over thirdman, but Daren Powell extracted his revenge off the very next delivery with one that deviated enough to take the outside edge. Soon, the Pakistanis were wobbling at 17 for two, with Younis Khan, one of the mainstays of their batting, paying the penalty for a hasty hook.

Mohammed Hafeez, too, exited early. He perished attempting to clear midon. At 39 for three, therefore, Mohammed Yousuf and Inzamam were enjoined to usher the decisive phase of the match. They skilfully added 60 runs. But Dwayne Smith, now, surprised Yousuf with extra bounce, which the bearded Pakistani failed to either keep down or direct safely. And Smith struck again to trap Inzy lbw. At 116 for five, which immediately became 116 for six, as Kamran Akmal came and went without disturbing the scorers, Pakistan were staring down a barrel. With only Shoaib Malik among the reputed batsmen remaining, they were highly unlikely to reach their target.

Earlier, The 9th ICC cricket World Cup got underway at Sabina Park’s stylish, new renovated facility, which, though, aesthetically retains the listed premises of the ancient Kingston Cricket Club, once the ground’s pavilion. On a hot and sultry morning, Inzamam-ul-Haq, observing the theory that it’s better to chase than defend in the Caribbean, inserted the hosts.

Scoreboard

West Indies

Gayle c Akmal b Gul 2

Jamshedpur, March 13
A 23-year-old cricket fan has threatened to commit suicide if nobody buys his kidney to fund a trip to the West Indies to watch the World Cup.

Sarun Kumar Sharma, a resident of Mango area here, is ready to end his life if he fails to make to the Caribbean islands to cheer the Men in Blue.

A salesman by profession, Sharma told UNI today that he wanted to sell his kidney to collect money for the trip to the West Indies but no one was responding.

“I have already made my passport from Ranchi much ahead of the World Cup. Since I don’t have enough money for the tour, I have decided to sell off my kidney. But I haven’t received any positive response from people so far,” Sharma lamented.

He also threatened that he would jump into the Subarnarekha river if he failed to gather the money for a trip to the West Indies before India’s first match against Bangladesh on March 17.

Sharma, who hails from a poor family, is a die-hard cricket fan since his childhood. He has shaved his head to form a map of India. — UNI

New Delhi, March 13
In a scathing reaction to Ricky Ponting’s attack on him, a combative Sunil Gavaskar struck back with vengeance, saying that a “hot-headed guy” might actually whack the Australian cricketers if they dared replicate their on-field behaviour in a bar.

The former India captain justified describing the Australian team’s behaviour as “awful” and said it would be difficult for players who use such language to get away from a bar without being physically hurt.

“Some day, some other hot-headed guy might actually get down and you know whack somebody who abuses him,” Gavaskar said.

Citing the example of former Aussie cricketer David Hookes, who had been fatally beaten up outside a bar, Gavaskar said the behaviour of current players could land them in trouble.

“There’s the example of the late Hookes. Would the Australians who use that kind of language on the field, and not all of them do, in a bar and would they get away with it? “Would they have a fist coming at their face or not?” Gavaskar said on sports channel ESPN’s breakfast show Taking Guard.

Defending his decision to walk out of the Melbourne Cricket Ground in protest against an lbw decision in 1981, Gavaskar said, “the reason the walk-off took place was simply because I was abused by the Australians.”

Gavaskar said it was the on-field behaviour of a side which mattered the most in cricket.

“Let me also come back to what he (Ponting) said about, the way I played my cricket and I do not know what he’s looking at.

“When he talks about the Indian team not having won matches, we are not talking about winning matches here, we are talking about behaviour on the field,” he said.

In an unusually personal attack on Monday, Ponting had questioned the sportsmanship of Gavaskar and ridiculed the Indian team’s performance in recent years.

Provoked by Gavaskar’s comment that Australia were an “unpopular team” because of their on-field behaviour, Ponting had said, “we all know the way he played his cricket, don’t we? If he is talking about us, what about the way India have played their cricket over the last few years?”

Gavaskar drew a comparison between the Australians and the West Indies side of the 1970s and 1980s, saying that the Caribbeans were popular when they were at the peak.

“The West Indians were popular winners, there was an affection about the West Indians players in spite of the fact that they were beating you in three days.”

“They (West Indies) did not abuse the opponents. They did not have anything to say to the opponents.

“When they were dominating world cricket the West Indians did not resort to personal abuse on the field, they just played the game hard, they were very tough competitors but there was nothing untoward in their behaviour towards their opponents.

“West Indian players always had a smile on their face when they came in at the end of day’s play to talk with you and to commiserate when you lost, you could see that there was no arrogance there,” he said.

Gavaskar said for their down-to-earth nature, the Caribbean cricketers were adored by fans all over the world.

“Cricket lovers all over the world wanted the West Indies teams of the last decade to get back on their feet and start winning again,” he said. — PTI

Port of Spain, March 13
The Indian team had not long set foot on Trinidad soil when they suffered their first “hiccup” of the World Cup as their team bus broke down.

As the team arrived here last evening, the bus carrying them from airport to the team hotel broke down on the Churchill-Roosevelt Highway in the vicinity of El Socorro Junction.

The procession of police vehicles escorting three buses — two with members of the India team and an empty contingency bus — from Piarco International Airport drove along the highway with sirens blaring, trying to clear the traffic to allow them free passage.

Upon passing the El Socorro traffic lights, one of the buses, carrying a few of the visiting Indians, broke down, forcing police to stop the convoy and block off the area, surrounding the buses long enough for them to be offloaded and relocated to the back-up bus.

The bus carrying the majority of the Indian team continued on its way to the Hilton Hotel in St Ann’s, where the four visiting teams — India, Sri Lanka, Bermuda and Bangladesh — will stay while they are in Trinidad for group matches. — PTI

New Delhi, March 13
Their performance will be good, but probably not good enough to bring back home the coveted trophy, predict some astrologers about Team India’s showing in the World Cup.

“Though India will manage to save their face, prestige and esteem with individual sterling performances, stars do not favour India in the final, especially under Rahul Dravid’s captaincy,” said Agra’s renowned astrologer Pramod Gautam.

After analysing the “kundli” of the Indian team announced on February 12, Gautam rules out India’s chances of winning the World Cup.

Astrologer Richa Shukla of New Delhi agrees with Gautam.

“India’s prospects of winning the World Cup are very complex. Though India is going to perform well at the warm-up level, their fate will depend on reaching the Super Eight stage. If they perform well in that, they can reach the final also. But winning the Cup is doubtful,” Shukla told IANS.

There are high chances of the team making it to the final, is what astrologer Suresh Kumar has forecast.

Based on the “prasna” method, which has nothing to do with individual horoscopes of the players or the coach, Suresh says that although India’s performance in the early matches will be good, the overall showing may not be so.

“There is a 50 per cent chance that India will reach the final. Indiscipline, confrontation with the management, lack of confidence and politics may affect the spirit of the team,” he said.

Astrologer Ajai Bhambi of New Delhi, however, said things didn’t look so bad and if India could win the semifinals, then there are good chances of winning the Cup as well.

“It’s a World Cup-winning team. There is just one hurdle, the semifinals, which if they can cross, will mark victory for them,” he said.

Talking about the players’ performances, most astrologers said Virender Sehwag would fail to give an excellent performance because of “loss of self-belief”. But Sourav Ganguly, Zaheer Khan and Irfan Pathan are bound to do well, because their stars are in the ascendancy and looking down favourably on them.

Sachin Tendulkar, they said, will show some unpredictability but nevertheless sign off with grace and dignity.

And on the question about captaincy, there was mixed reaction, with most astrologers saying that Sourav Ganguly would have been a more able captain.

“Rahul’s stars come in the way of India’s march to glory. Sourav, who has been having a favourable run thanks to his stars, would have been a better choice,” Gautam said.

Shukla said: “Rahul’s current year number matches with this year’s number, but his name does not suggest victory. For the captain, the second half of the year is going to be a better time”.

Bhambi differs on this issue.

“Looking at Dravid’s ‘kundli’, there are five planets in the 10th house, which signifies action. This means he will give an excellent performance and show good leadership skills. He will make some mistakes but overall he will be good.” — IANS

What was a distant dream when we became a Test-playing nation in 1981-82 became reality on March 17, 1996. It is difficult to describe our elation at winning the World Cup. Our tour of Australia prior to the World Cup definitely helped, as it fostered bonding among the boys. There was tremendous tension and acrimony, with Muttiah Muralitharan being no-balled on several occasions, but we managed to keep ourselves afloat and tried to make the most of our opportunities.

The decision to open with Jayasuriya and Kaluwitharana was taken on that tour. “Kalu” was a gutsy strokemaker, but he was getting a chance to bat only in the slog overs, and his cleanly-struck hits were being caught by fielders in the deep. We felt that he had it in him to exploit the gaping holes in the deep in the initial overs. Sanath and he were to be followed in the batting order by as many as five quality batsmen — Asanka Gurusinha, myself, Arjuna Ranatunga, Hashan Tillekaratne and Roshan Mahanama. They were thus able to play their natural game, knowing that the five of us were capable of batting out the fifty overs. The Sanath-Kalu blitzkrieg in the early overs gave us more overs to settle down. Thus, we complemented each other. We had the batting and most importantly, the experience to take on any attack and deliver in any situation. That also helped us prefer chasing to defending.

There was more controversy when the tournament began, with Australia and the West Indies refusing to play in Colombo for “security reasons”. A lot of things were said, but honestly, I can’t blame the teams for feeling insecure. They must have had their reasons for being apprehensive. But there is no secret that their reluctance further boosted our determination. We were looking forward to get on with the cricket.

I remember the match against Kenya, in which we achieved the then world record for the highest-ever score — 398. We felt invincible that day, and that is putting it mildly. Our comprehensive win over India at New Delhi earlier in the tournament contributed to that feeling.

The semifinal against India at Kolkata was a day-night affair, and we had made up our minds to continue with our strategy of fielding first if we won the toss. Our bowling attack was spin-oriented, and we were keen not to expose our “slow men” to the dew factor. But one look at the wicket convinced us that it would crumble as the match went on. As it turned out, India won the toss and asked us to bat first.

I had been unwell before the game and missed the practice sessions. The heat was debilitating, and I remember feeling dehydrated and lying down in the dressing-room, and I wasn’t sure whether I would be able to bat after fielding for 50 overs. Hence, India’s decision suited me. I visited the toilet moments after Sanath and Kalu went in. Then there was a sudden knock on the door, and I was informed that we had lost two wickets in the very first over! I was in my “blues”, and a team-mate helped me get my gear on. I just walked in, took my guard and got on with the job. I do not know whether I would have batted as freely as I did had I seen the wickets fall.

We won that game, and found ourselves in the final. It was then that the enormity of the occasion sunk in. It was a particularly significant occasion for Arjuna and myself, who had experienced many a humiliating defeat in the 1980s and early 1990s. We now had a wonderful opportunity to show the world what Sri Lankan cricketers were capable of.

Australia started well in the final at Lahore, but we came back into the match with tight bowling and good catching. The target was only 242, and I remember telling myself as I walked in to bat that we would win if I lasted for fifty overs. My approach from ball one was to be there till the end of the innings. Everything proceeded as per plan. Asanka played superbly, as did Arjuna. It was appropriate that he got the opportunity to make the winning hit.

The memories of that day are still vivid, and will remain so. I believe that Mahela Jayawardene and his players have the potential to do an encore in 2007. Their recent record says it all. My best wishes are with them. — PMG

Indian Wells (USA), March 13
Leander Paes and his Czech partner Martin Damm put up a solid performance to advance to the men’s doubles second round, while the Mahesh Bhupathi-Radek Stepanek pair crashed out of the Pacific Life Open here.

The Indo-Czech pair of Paes and Damm outplayed Belgian Oliver Rochus and Jim Thomas of the USA 6-3, 6-2.

However, Paes’ former partner Bhupathi, teaming up with another Czech player, Stepanek, lost to the French pair of Julien Benneteau and Richard Gasquet 6-4, 6-3.

Paes and Damm put up a terrific display and unsettled their lower-ranked opponents, who got no chance to mount a serious challenge right from the beginning in the Tier I tournament.

The fifth seeded Indo-Czech pair will next meet the unseeded Polish pair Maroin Matkowski and Mariusz Fyrstenberg.

The Polish pair set up a clash with Paes-Damm after defeating Argentine duo of David Nalbandian and Guillermo Canas. — UNI

Gurgaon, March 13
Women’s professional golf in India marked a huge step forward and is all set to join the big league alongside other Asian giants with the cream of European and Asian golfing talents teeing off at the world-class DLF Golf and Country Club in the first-ever $1,00,000 DLF Women’s Indian Open starting here tomorrow.

Several stars, including the likes of European Tour stars Kiran Matharu and Anna Rawson, top-ranked Asian Golf Tour player Libby Smith, besides India’s own Ladies PGA Tour star Smriti Mehra and Irina Brar, will look to master the challenging course which is peppered with strategically placed bunkers and water-bodies in the three-day event.

Australian Anna Rawson, who has been voted among the 10 most beautiful sportswomen in the world, is also one of the biggest names on the Ladies European Tour and posted one top-10 and two top-20 finishes in only 11 events.

But the emerging talent of Britain Kiran Matharu, who is being touted as the answer to Michelle Wei, will not lack in motivation as she will get plenty of support from the audience. Her grandparents belong to Nawanshahr (Punjab) and the her cousins from Jalandhar will be cheering her on from the sidelines.

Matharu, who is only 14 years old, is the youngest European on the Ladies European Tour to have represented England right from the under-14 level.

The par-72 Arnold Palmer designed golf course will also witness some of the best names in junior women’s golf like Tanya Wadhwa and Yushira Budhram. Besides, Irina, another name that has dominated Indian women’s golf over the years, will also be looking to get her club swinging nicely for her.

The winner will pocket $15,000, the runner-up $10,000, while the third-placed professional will benefit by $7500. — UNI

Chennai, March 13
Home advantage weigh in India’s favour as they take on higher-ranked Thailand in a pre-Olympic (men-under-23) football match at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here tomorrow.

Colin Toal, chief coach of the Indian team, said he had worked on the strengths of the hosts rather than on the shortcomings.

“We went down to Iraq in the earlier match 0-3 but our performance was good. My players are not short of skills but lose out to rivals on better physique,” Toal said. — PTI