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Aussies cruise to victory England’s Kevin Pietersen celebrates after completing his century during the Super Eight match against Australia at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in St John’s on Sunday. — AFP
photo We belong to the elite: Bashar |
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Cash for victory
Jeev placed tied 16th
Dempo win, regain top spot
Jyoti wins title
Jung finishes poor 13th
Delhi, Haryana v’ball champs
Kaushal lifts 3 titles
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Aussies cruise to victory
St John’s, April 8 Kevin Pietersen struck 104 in England’s modest 247 all out but Australia reached their target with 16 balls to spare to severely damage their old rivals’ chances of making the semi-finals. Michael Clarke also made a half-century for the defending champions, who are on course to finish top of the Super Eight table. England must win their three remaining second stage games against Bangladesh, South Africa and hosts West Indies to have a good chance of progressing to the last four. Earlier, Pietersen played an uncharacteristic knock of 104 during which he largely restrained from flashy strokes and tried to carry his bat through. The South Africa-born player almost fulfilled his task, falling in the penultimate over of the England innings, but whether his 122-ball essay, with six fours and one six, had made up for the rest of the batsmen's failure remains to be seen. Ian Bell, coming in as an opener, was the next top scorer with 77 and compensated for the lack of Pietersen’s aggression with nine fours from 90 balls. Bell and Pietersen put on 140 runs for the third wicket but a middle and lower order collapse undid the duo’s good work. Australia put the squeeze in the middle overs as only 50 runs came in more than 15 overs after the dismissals of Bell and Paul Collingwood (2) in the space of seven balls. Shaun Tait (3-41) did the damage at the top while Nathan Bracken (3-33) was irresistible in the death. Glenn McGrath was outclassed in his opening spell but made a strong return to claim 3-62. Tait consumed Michael Vaughan and Andrew Strauss in successive overs but England quickly recovered from the early setback. Bell struck McGrath for three fours in the 14th over and Pietersen smacked Michael Clarke for a four and a six, forcing Ricky Ponting to delay the third power play. Pietersen had two reprieves on 50 and 63. The first was a half-chance, a flying Ponting failing to hold on to an uppish drive off Andrew Symonds at mid-wicket. The second was a sitter but Matthew Hayden, running backwards at mid-off, made a hesitant attempt and the ball fell through his fingers. Pietersen made the most of it to reach the three-figure mark but Australia fought their way back into the match through some tidy bowling performance. Bell ultimately perished to McGrath and Collingwood made a tentative push and edged Tait to Adam Gilchrist. Scoreboard England Bell c Hussey b McGrath 77 Vaughan b Tait 5 Strauss b Tait 7 Pietersen c Clarke
b Bracken 104 Collingwood c Gilchrist b Tait 2 Flintoff st Gilchrist
b Hogg 4 Bopara c Hussey b Bracken 21 Nixon c Hodge b McGrath 8 Mahmood c Hodge
b Bracken 0 Panesar not out 1 Anderson lbw McGrath 0 Extras
(b 4, lb 4, w 7, nb 3) 18 Total (all out, 49.5 overs) 247 Fall of wickets:
1-10, 2-24, 3-164, 4-167, 5-179, 6-230, 7-240, 8-240, 9-246. Bowling:
Bracken 10-1-33-3, Tait 10-0-41-3, McGrath 9.5-0-62-3, Clarke 4-0-27-0, Hogg 10-0-36-1, Symonds 6-0-40-0. Australia Gilchrist c Collingwood
b Flintoff 27 Hayden b Collingwood 41 Ponting run out 86 Clarke not out 55 Symonds not out 28 Extras
(b-1, lb-5, w-5) 11 Total (3 wkts, 47.2 overs) 248 Fall of wickets:
1-57, 2-89, 3-201. Bowling: Anderson 10-1-49-0, Mahmood 9.2-1-60-0, Flintoff 10-1-35-1, Panesar 9-0-48-0, Collingwood 9-0-50-1.
— Agencies
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We belong to the elite: Bashar Georgetown, April 8 “This win was important for us. We have shown we are not just here to make up the group but we are capable of winning too,” Bashar said, sounding a warning for critics still clubbing them in the minnows category. “We always have belief we can play good cricket. We always believe we came in the Super Eight because we had done something good in the first round. But we needed to prove ourselves as well that we can play at this level,” said Bashar after his side brought down the world’s top-ranked ODI team to earth with a 67-run win. “The game was important for us as we were a little laidback in previous matches. It brought a bit of our toughness back,” he said. Bashar also said that it was not the end of the World Cup road for them and they would look to seal a semifinal berth. “We don’t want to play one good game and then play three bad games. I think we need to be a bit more confident and consistent, but the boys have the belief they can do it.” Bashar praised Mohammad Ashraful for his fantastic knock of 87 which carried his team to a decent score of 251. “Ashraful was fantastic. Mashrafe Mortaza supported him well and Aftab also batted well. We lost early wickets but because of the way they played, we were able to reach a good score,” he said. “We have seen some games in Guyana and we knew that if we could score some runs, we have very good left-arm spinners,” Bashar said, praising his spinners for choking the opposition to submission yesterday. SA fined for slow over rate ICC match referee Chris Broad fined South Africa for slow over rate during the Bangladesh innings. A statement issued by the ICC stated that Broad imposed the fines after Graeme Smith’s side was ruled to be one over short of its scheduled target at the finish of the Bangladesh innings when time allowances were taken into consideration. “In accordance with the ICC Code of Conduct regulations governing over rate penalties, players are fined five per cent of their match fees for every over their side fails to bowl in the allotted time, with the captain fined double that amount,” said the statement. Skipper Smith has been fined 10 per cent of his match fee, while his other players have each received five per cent fines. Earlier in the mega event, India, Pakistan and West Indies were penalised for slow over rates.
— Agencies
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Georgetown, April 8 “We put down a few chances upfront and didn’t really set a great total. Our basics were bad with the ball and also in the field,” said Smith, who suddenly found that the road to the semifinals was not a straight forward one at all. “We had our game plan and all was set up upfront. But we didn’t play any kind of cricket we are capable of. We cannot take any positive from any facet of this game,” he said at the post-match press conference yesterday. Smith said his team mucked up the plan not to allow Bangladesh any leeway in yesterday’s game, but failed to do so. “We discussed not to give them opportunity before the game but we did exactly the same. They grabbed it with both hands. “We gave them a sniff and they have the capability of putting you under pressure. We let ourselves down very, very badly,” he said. Smith refused to believe that the lack of any spinner in their ranks or the surface suiting Bangladesh had a bearing on the match’s outcome. “I think we have done very well on this surface. We managed to beat Sri Lanka in these very conditions. “I also don’t think we missed any spinner as it didn’t turn in the first 45-50 overs. “Their left-arm spinners bowled very well but I think we allowed them to bowl very well because we were under pressure,” he said. “We lost a few wickets in a clutch and put ourselves under pressure. We then became tentative and allowed them to grow in confidence. Then it became very difficult to negotiate their spinners on a slowish pitch,” Smith said. The Proteas skipper was reluctant in praising Bangladesh for their efforts and said the minnows banked on his team’s shortcomings. “Mohammad Ashraful played superbly. From the moment he came in, he carried the team around him. I don’t want to take anything away from him but we didn’t bowl and field as well as we should have. “They are a young team and certainly improving all the time. The more consistent they are, the better it would be for them,” he said. “Our goal will be to win next three games. Our aim is not to rely on other people to help us go through,” Smith said. — PTI
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Georgetown, April 8 Stephen Fleming’s Kiwis have been marching menacingly towards the semifinals and they now need to beat debutants Ireland in their Super Eight match here tomorrow to strengthen their chances. Like Australia, New Zealand are the only unbeaten team in the tournament, having defeated England, Canada and Scotland in group games and the West Indies and Bangladesh in the second round. They have six points from three matches. Ireland look unlikely to stop the Kiwi juggernaut despite improving with every match. They have fought well against big teams in the second round, but failed to produce a big performance when it mattered the most. They caught the eye in group matches when they upset Pakistan and also tied their game against Zimbabwe. That they deserved a place in the Super Eight was proved when they tested both England and South Africa before losing. “Up to now, we’ve done everything we’ve been expected to do. It’s important we take two points against Ireland. It will set us up for the toughest week with South Africa, Sri Lanka and Australia to play,” said Fleming. “I agree Ireland know more about us than we do about them, but we have received some good information about them and we’ll go out and do our best.” Fleming has already given a good account of himself both as captain and a top-order batsman, having scored 280 runs in five matches with a century. The Kiwi captain is not the only player in form as middle-order batsmen Scott Styris and Craig McMillan have also contributed. New Zealand’s bowling has more variety, with pacemen Shane Bond and James Franklin capable of doing the early damage and spinners Daniel Vettori and Jeetan Patel keeping the batsmen silent in the middle overs. Ireland have a pair of effective seamers in Trent Johnston and David Langford-Smith, but will require more from other bowlers to raise hopes of restricting New Zealand to a modest total. They also need a big innings, so essential in setting or chasing a stiff target. Most of their batsmen got starts against South Africa and England, but could not convert them into a big knock. “I am happy that most of the batsmen have good starts and that means they can play a long innings,” said Ireland coach Adrian Birrell. “We are playing at the highest level (for the first time) and to beat big sides we have to give 100 per cent. We have to take every chance, but I am happy the guys are doing very well considering the circumstances. “It’s a daunting task before us, but they have not played against us before, so that’s an advantage.” — AFP
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Cash for victory
New Delhi, April 8 Having abolished the graded contract system under which senior players were paid much more than others, the BCCI has decided that each player will get a fee of Rs 2 lakh for a Test and Rs 1 lakh for an ODI. If the team wins a Test match in India, each member of the playing XI will get an incentive of Rs 5 lakh, while the reserve players get half that amount. If the team draw a Test in India, each player will be paid Rs 3 lakh (reserves get Rs 1.50 lakh). For winning a Test abroad, each player will get a bonus of Rs 6 lakh, while reserves will get half the amount. A Test series win abroad will earn the team an incentive of Rs 1.50 crore to the team. For ODIs, the incentives include Rs 3 lakh each for a domestic win for the playing eleven and half the amount for the reserves. For each ODI victory abroad, members of the playing XI will get Rs 4 lakh (reserves Rs 2 lakh each), according to BCCI vice-president and spokesperson Rajiv Shukla, who said here that these payments had been decided at the Board’s Working Committee meeting in Mumbai yesterday. An ODI series win on foreign soil will get the team Rs 75 lakh and an ODI series win in India will mean a bonus of Rs 50 lakh to the team. Shukla said during 2004-05, the players had been paid Rs 25 crore by the Board. The amount had gone up to Rs 30 crore in the following year. — PTI
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Mumbai, April 8 A commerce graduate, Nikita hails from Manor and her father Deepak and Karthik’s father Krishna Kumar are good friends. The wedding, to be held at a suburban hotel here, is expected to be a low-key affair and only close relatives and friends of the two families are being invited, the sources said. Many members of the Indian cricket team are expected to attend the marriage. Since the wedding is being held on a day which is a holiday in Maharashtra, several Mumbai-based cricketers are likely to be present. The 21-year-old Chennai-based cricketer was part of India’s World Cup team that made an early exit. After his marriage, a busy schedule awaits Karthik, who stands a strong chance of being included in the Indian squad for its tour of Bangladesh, starting on May 10. — PTI
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Alonso clinches Malaysian GP
Sepang, April 8 The Spaniard led his young McLaren Mercedes-Benz team-mate Lewis Hamilton home in a spectacular one-two triumph, as the pair handed out a lesson in race strategy to their rivals at the sweltering Sepang International Circuit. It was the 16th victory of Alonso’s career, his first for his new McLaren team in only his second race with them, and his second in Malaysia. He won in 2005 and finished second last year, both results achieved while driving for Renault and en route to two successive world titles. Hamilton, 22, of the UK, confirmed the dazzling potential he demonstrated on his debut in Australia last month, where he finished third, by driving a perfect race in support and defence of his team-mate on his own way to well-deserved second place, 17 seconds behind Alonso. Alonso’s victory also ended a long 20-race McLaren drought. It was their first win since they won in Japan in October, 2005, and the first one-two since the Brazilian race that same year. The result hoisted 25-year-old Alonso to the top of the embryonic world drivers’ championship ahead of Raikkonen, who finished third for Ferrari ahead of German Nick Heidfeld in a BMW Sauber. Raikkonen fought hard in the closing stages to close the gap on Hamilton, but the young tyro held him off to finish seven-tenths of a second ahead as they crossed the line. Brazilian Felipe Massa, in the other Ferrari, who started from pole, made mistakes and finished fifth ahead of Italians Giancarlo Fisichella, who claimed sixth place for Renault, and Jarno Trulli, who finished seventh for Toyota. Finland’s 25-year-old Renault rookie Heikki Kovalainen scored his first point by finishing eighth, a solid answer to his critics after a disappointing race in Melbourne. On another sweltering day, with air temperatures hovering around 34°C and the track climbing to 57°C, together with humidity of 58 per cent, everyone felt the strain. On the grid, drivers were freely using white towels to wipe away heavy perspiration even before they had climbed into their cars. At the start, Alonso, in second place, made a smooth and powerful attack on pole-sitting Massa and swept ahead of him into the first right-hand bend.
— AFP
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Jeev placed tied 16th
Augusta, April 8 Playing in very challenging conditions, debutant Jeev shot a 76 that looked certain to be much better before he ran into an unexpected late double bogey on the 15th. At the end of the third round, he had totalled 223, only five shots off the leader Stuart Appleby (73), who was followed by Tiger Woods and Justin Rose as in the last hour of action golfers crumbled in the windy and chilly conditions. On a day which got progressively tougher in terms of wind and hard-and-fast greens, there was just one player out of 60, Retief Goosen (70), who produced a sub-par round and two others, Woods and Lee Westwood, who shot par. Jeev was placed tied 16th, a position if he maintains will guarantee a return to the Masters next year. The top 16 and tied are assured of a berth in the following year’s Masters. With most of the American media still confused between Jeev and Vijay Singh, there was added mirth in the form of a final day’s pairing of Jeev and Vijay Singh. “My course management was good except for one hole. That’s alright, I made one mistake. I am human, I am allowed to do that,” said Jeev. The costliest part for Jeev was the double bogey on the par-five 15th hole. After laying up with his second, his third shot from well behind the water rolled off the putting surface and back into the water hazard guarding the green. That ended in a double. He hung in with three closing pars. He fired a birdie on the 13th and dropped three other bogeys, two from three putts. For the third day running, he three-putted the 10th. Jeev, who has received huge attention here, turned in 38 with bogeys on the first and fourth holes. He birdied the 13th with a good chip before coming to grief on the 15th. “I’ll take my current position right now. It wasn’t easy. I think it evened things out,” he said. Appleby looked set to be the only one to go through three rounds, while still maintaining a cumulative in red figures after three rounds. Then disaster struck in the form of a triple on the 17th. But he still led by one and among those tied for second were Woods and Rose. Eleven more players, including former Masters champions Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh, two-time US Open winner Retief Goosen and Jim Furyk, are within five shots off Appleby. — PTI
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New Delhi, April 8 Karan Rastogi was to play Makeyev in the match but after Rohan Bopanna went down fighting to top Kazakh player Alexei Kedriouk in the first reverse singles earlier in the day and surrendered the 2-1 advantage, team captain Paes took it upon himself to see India through. Bopanna, who won the singles against Makeyev on Friday before pairing up with Paes in the doubles win against Makeyev and Kedriouk yesterday, lost to Kedriouk 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-4, according to information received here today. India will now stay in Group 1 for next season, while Kazakhstan have to play the final round of playoff in September. The two teams played each other for the first time in the history of the men’s team tennis competition. India had to feature in the playoff after their 1-4 loss to Uzbekistan in an away tie in February. — UNI
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Margao, April 8 The goals for Dempo came in the first half through Anthony Pereira in the 12th minute and Samir Naik in the 24th minute. Dempo, with this win, came on a par with defending champions Mahindra United, Mumbai, with 23 points. However, Dempo top the table because of better goal difference. Sporting Clube de Goa remained on 14 points from as many matches. Air-India scrape past HAL
Bangalore: A superb header by substitute Zaheer Abbas enabled Air-India to beat local league champion Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) Sports Club 1-0 in a National Football League match here on Sunday. The lone goal of the match was scored by midfielder Abbas in the 61st minute.
— UNI
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New Delhi, April 8 Randhawa had a flawless outing, starting the final round on a strong note with a birdie on the very first hole and then followed it up with a hat-trick of birdies from the fifth hole to make the turn at four-under-par 32. Ashok Kumar finished runner-up with 15-under 275, followed by overnight leader Gaurav Ghei with 13-under-par 275. Gaurav Ghei was third with 13-under 278. Randhawa maintained his momentum on the back nine — reeling birdies on the 11th, 15th, 16th and 18th holes. Inspired by Jeev Milkha Singh’s Masters debut, Randhawa said, “It’s great for Indian golf. It has inspired everyone one of us to strive all the much harder.” Asked when he sees himself making it to the Masters, he told UNI, “I think I am ready. I should make it within a year or two.” Meanwhile, a double bogey on the last hole spoilt Ashok’s show a bit although he finished seven strokes behind Randhawa. Shiv Kapur also set a new course record at the Delhi Golf Course with a 10-under 62 effort. — UNI
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Jung finishes poor 13th
New Delhi, April 8 Jung shot 553 with a series of 89, 93, 93,91, 95 and 92 and missed the final by two points. Amanpreet Singh Jhaam finished 27th while Vivek Singh finished 38th. In the men’s 50m rifle prone event, Sanjeev Rajput finished 49th. Rajput, who had qualified for next year’s Beijing Olympics in 50m rifle three position event, shot 584 with a series of 97, 98, 95, 99, 97 and 98.
— UNI
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Delhi, Haryana v’ball champs
Mandi, April 8 In the under-17 girls category, Kerala defeated Haryana to lift the trophy. The Punjab boys secured the third place in both under-14 boys and girls categories. In the under-17 girls category, Maharashtra got the third place. The IPH minister, Kaul Singh Thakur, who was the chief guest at the concluding ceremony, awarded the trophies to the winners.
— TNS
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Kaushal lifts 3 titles Kurali, April 8 In the men’s open doubles category, the duo of Kaushal and Vivek Goel were declared winners as they defeated Raj Kumar and Rohtash 21-19, 16-21, 21-18. Over 25 shuttlers participated in the championship. This was the first championship held by the association, which was formed last month. The championship was played on outdoor cemented courts at the school premises.
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St John’s, April 8
For those who dismissed
Banglade- sh’s win against India as a fluke, skipper Habibul Bashar gave a stark reminder that they truly belong to the international stage after felling the mighty South Africa in World Cup Super Eight.
Video
