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Kiwis fly into semis
Pride at stake for Bangladesh, Ireland
Malinga doubtful for match versus Australia
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TODAY
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Top names to play in Twenty20 meet
Dhruv Pandove cricket meet gets under way
Blatter arrives in Kolkata
Jeev misses the cut
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St George’s, April 14 Earlier, thanks to Herschelle Gibbs’ sedate 60, South Africa managed a modest total on a substandard pitch at the Grenada National Stadium. Put in to bat, South Africa struggled on a pitch where the ball never quite came on to bat and partnerships were hard to come by. New Zealand took to the conditions like fish to water and while their regulars bowled well, non-regular bowler Craig McMillan was the surprise package with three for 23. McMillan, who had bowled only an over and a half in the Super Eight stage so far, did a golden turn for his team by claiming Gibbs (60), Ashwell Prince (37) and Mark Boucher (16) in his inspiring spell. The slide began almost from the moment the Proteas went into bat with captain Graeme Smith mistiming a drive and spooning up a catch in the covers in the second over of the morning. AB de Villiers, the other opener, put his left foot too across in front and when the ball from left-arm seamer James Franklin missed the bat he was ruled out leg before wicket. Jacques Kallis (22) and Gibbs (60) found the scoring so difficult that only 12 runs came from the first 13 overs. Gibbs then brought up the first four of the innings, a searing cover drive off Bond and then followed it up by slamming Jacob Oram straight beyond the boundary. Kallis inflicted a similar stroke off Oram as the first 50 of the innings arrived in the 18th over. New Zealand, who fielded two spinners in their eleven, brought them on around the end of three Powerplays and both Daniel Vettori and Jeetan Patel looked difficult to get past by. Kallis backed away to hit Vettori on the off-side and lofted a catch in the deep cover position. The one-drop South African batsmen batted for 54 balls for his 22 runs and hit a four and a six apiece. Gibbs and Prince then put on 76 runs for the fourth wicket in 103 balls of grim resistance before a stroke of luck gave New Zealand the breakthrough they wanted. Gibbs went back to force Craig McMillan on the off-side but the ball took the inside edge of his bat to jam on to his pads and then roll on to stumps. Gibbs’ innings was worth much more than the 60 runs he scored from 100 balls with two fours and a six. McMillan then exceeded all expectations in picking up two more critical wickets with his part-time medium-pacers. Both Prince (37) and Mark Boucher (16) fell to catches in the deep as they tried to force the pace. Prince lasted for 57 balls and hit two fours in his knock. New Zealand had earlier defeated Ireland, Bangladesh and the West Indies in the Super Eight. They had lost only to Sri Lanka. South Africa beat the West Indies, Ireland and Sri Lanka, but lost to Bangladesh. New Zealand’s last Super Eight match is against Australia, while South Africa take on England. Scoreboard
South Africa Smith c Oram b Bond 1 De Villiers lbw Franklin 0 Kallis c Bond b Vettori 22 Gibbs b McMillan 60 Prince c Patel b McMillan 37 Boucher c Fulton Pollock not out 21 Hall c Oram b Bond 17 Peterson not out 8 Extras (lb-3, w-7, nb-1) 11 Total
(7 wkts, 50 overs) 193 Fall of wickets: 1-3, 2-3, 3-52, 4-128, 5-143, 6-149, 7-181. Bowling: Franklin 7-2-16-1, Bond 10-1-26-2, Oram 5-2-23-0, Patel 10-1-36-0, Vettori 10-0-50-1, Styris 3-0-16-0, McMillan 5-0-23-3. New Zealand Fulton c Hall b Ntini 16 Fleming c Boucher Taylor lbw Nel 10 Styris c Gibbs b Peterson 56 McMillan not out 38 Oram b Nel 10 McCullum not out 4 Extras
(lb-3, w-8, nb-1) 12 Total (5 wkts, 48.2 overs) 196 Fall of wickets: 1-25, 2-42, 3-120, 4-176, 5-192. Bowling: Pollock 10-0-30-1, Ntini 10-0-42-1, Nel 9.2-0-33-1, Hall 8-0-32-0, Kallis 4-0-17-0, Peterson 7-0-39-1.
— Agencies
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Pride at stake for Bangladesh, Ireland
Bridgetown, April 14 Bangladesh beat India by five wickets in a group match while Ireland, making their debut in the showpiece event, caused a bigger stir with a three-wicket upset of Pakistan which sent the 1992 champions packing. Tomorrow’s fixture was supposed to be a high-profile India-Pakistan clash, but Bangladesh still feel proud to be representing Asia and hope to finish among the top six in the Super Eight table. “We are focused for our last two games and we hope to win both of them to finish our best World Cup in a befitting manner,” said Bangladesh captain Habibul Bashar. Bangladesh, who caused another upset with a 67-run win against South Africa, hope New Zealand down Graeme Smith’s men on Saturday to keep their slim hopes of a semi-final place alive. Defending champions Australia have already reached the last four with a ruthless demolition of Ireland by nine wickets here on Friday, while Sri Lanka (eight points in five matches), New Zealand (eight from five) are more or less through to the semi-finals. South Africa (six points from five), England (four from five), Bangladesh (two from five) and the West Indies (two from five) are also in the running for the last place. “We know it’s difficult and our defeat against England has almost shattered our chances, but we know Ireland can be dangerous and we have to be alert,” said Bashar. “Overall I’m happy with my team’s performance in the World Cup. We lost a couple of close games and won a couple of big games. We still have two more games to play in this competition and we will try to push hard.” For Ireland the bigger incentive is to break into the ICC one-day rankings for the first time by beating Bangladesh. An ICC Associate team need to beat two Test playing countries to take the 12th place in the ICC one-day rankings. Ireland captain Trent Johnston said his team will train hard to pick themselves after being routed by Australia. “Bangldesh pose a different sort of challenge than Australia. Bangladesh have quality spinners and we have been squeezed by the spinners in the middle overs so it’s one area we have to guard,” said Johnston. “After watching Bangladesh beating South Afica we know they have good spinners and we will do our best to counter them and train hard and see what happens.” Johnston hoped both teams live up to fans’ expectations — most of whom had booked tickets in an anticipation of a India-Pakistan encounter. “Certainly we would like to play like that, we are going to come out and not get dispatched like we did against Australia. We don’t want to disappoint ourselves and the Irish fans who have come here to watch these matches.
— AFP
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Malinga doubtful for match versus Australia
St George’s, April 14 ''I don't know whether we will risk him against Australia, he is doubtful for that match,'' Sri Lankan team manager Michael Tessera told Reuters today. ''It may be better to keep him for the game against Ireland (on Wednesday).'' Tessera said Malinga, who has taken 15 wickets at 14.26 runs each including an unprecedented four from four balls against South
Africa, was on the mend. ''He was walking around this morning and he is feeling much better,'' he said. ''When his injury was diagnosed the doctors said he would be out of action for about a week, so we don't know yet what his condition will be like. ''We will have to assess him in practice and take it from there.'' Malinga has been a central figure in Sri Lanka's strong showing at the tournament. The 1996 champions have lost just one match so far, when they went down to South Africa by one wicket in Guyana.
— Reuters
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Top names to play in Twenty20 meet
Mumbai, April 14 Indian captain Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Yuvraj Singh are among the big names who will be turning out for their respective state associations in what promises to be a treat for cricket lovers of the two cities. When the cricket board envisaged introducing the tournament in the national calendar in view of the upcoming World Twenty20 championship in South Africa in September, not many would have expected that the top players would be providing it with a touch of class. The shocking early exit of India from the ongoing World Cup in the West Indies has been criticised roundly from all quarters, but the quirk of fate has enabled the cricket lovers to watch their favourite stars in the action-packed format of the game. Besides the established players, several budding youngsters would also be keen to steal the show and impress the selectors ahead of their meeting on April 20 to choose the Indian Test and ODI teams for the Bangladesh tour. A few top-drawer performances might well fetch players on the fringe of the selectors' attention places in the team, even at the cost of non-performing seasoned campaigners. The ten teams that have qualified for the All India stage of the tournament have been split up into two groups of five each. Group A matches are to be held in Mumbai, at the Wankhede Stadium and the Cricket Club of India from tomorrow till April 19 to spot the top team. Likewise Group B ties are scheduled at the Motera ground in Ahmedabad. Two matches are slated to be held daily, one in the day (9.30 am to 12.30 pm) and the other under lights (6.30 pm to 9.30 pm). The two pool toppers would meet in the summit clash at the Brabourne Stadium (CCI) here on April 21 to decide the maiden winners of the national Twenty20 crown. In the opening matches tomorrow, Punjab would cross swords with Railways here while Tamil Nadu would clash with Bengal at Ahmedabad.
— PTI
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Tendulkar tenders apology to BCCI
Mumbai, April 14 According to sources, Tendulkar was assured by Pawar that he would not be victimised if he apologised for the interview which was published by a national newspaper. Tendulkar is believed to have sent a one-page letter clarifying his stand on the issue. BCCI officials who confirmed receipt of Tendulkar's letter did not comment on its contents. Tendulkar's colleague Yuvraj Singh who also spoke to the press has also sent in his own apology, according to BCCI sources. Yuvraj had stated that he expressed his solidarity with Tendulkar in the interests of team unity. While certain media outlets say Tendulkar has promised not to badmouth team officials again, sources close to the batsman indicated that he had not apologised and had only sent in a clarification. Both players are believed to have consulted senior legal experts before sending in their responses. A number of senior cricket officials, including Pawar and chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar have played a major role in advising Tendulkar and Yuvraj. BCCI's decision to issue notice to Tendulkar was not taken lightly by politicians and cricket officials. The estranged Thackeray cousins Uddhav and Raj issued separate statements defending Tendulkar. Incidentally, the Mumbai Cricket Association, which is controlled by Pawar, openly hit out at the Board officials for pillorying Tendulkar despite his star status. MCA officials even stated that Tendulkar's statement to the newspaper was not a breach of contract.
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Yousuf puts hand up for captaincy
Karachi, April 14 Yousuf, Pakistan’s most senior batsmen after Inzamam-ul-Haq and who enjoyed a record-breaking year in 2006 with 1785 Test runs, said he was willing to captain the side if the Pakistan Cricket Board made him an offer. “The PCB has so far not contacted me as yet or made an offer to captain the side. But I have no problems leading the team as I don’t see any kind of pressure in the job,” Yousuf was quoted as saying by Cricinfo website. He also considered himself a worthy candidate for the position left vacant after Inzamam stepped down after the World Cup debacle. “I think in the last one year I have proven myself as a senior batsman and I have previous experience of leading the team. I made a hundred in Australia in a Test when I captained the side in place of the injured Inzamam.”
— PTI
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Dhruv Pandove cricket meet gets under way Patiala, April 14 A total of thirteen teams are participating in the tournament namely Wood Stock School, Mussourie, Vasant Valley, New Delhi, Modern School, New Delhi, Scindia School, Gwalior, Bishop Cotton School, Shimla, Pinegrove School, Subhathu, Moti Lal Nehru School of Sports, Rai, Mayoor School, Ajmer, Assam Valley School, Tezpur, YPS, Mohali, and the hosts YPS, Patiala. There are six players in each team and each team will play five overs. The chief guest for the opening ceremony was Neeraj Bedhotiya, principal of Mayoor School, Ajmer. In the matches played today, YPS, Patiala, defeated Mayoor School, Ajmer. Batting first, Mayoor School scored 33 runs for the loss of 3 wickets in 5 overs. YPS achieved the target in 2 overs. Amandeep scored 34 unbeaten runs for YPS. In another match, YPS, Patiala, defeated YPS, Mohali. Batting first, YPS, Mohali, scored 52 for 4 in 5 overs. Bikramjeet, Amit Sharma and Gurjinder scored 14, 14 and 10 runs, respectively. YPS, Patiala, achieved the target in 3.4 overs for no loss. Amandeep and Amitoz contributed 32 not out and 16 not out for their team. The quarterfinal line up: Pool-A: 1. Modern School, New Delhi, 2. DPS R.K. Puram, New Delhi Pool-B: 1. Assam Valley School, Tezpur, 2. DPS Mathura Road, New Delhi Pool-C: 1. YPS, Patiala, 2. YPS, Mohali Pool-D: 1. Wood Stock School, Mussourie, 2. Bishop Cotton School, Shimla.
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Officials should be held accountable: Milkha
Jalandhar, April 14 Milkha, who is in the town to flag off a marathon being organised by Jalandhar Marathon Rally Society and AP Publishers, said it is high time that the government should intervene in the working of the sports federations. “The Central government should issue a letter demanding resignation from those office-bearers who have not been able to show results. Almost every federation has a president who is holding office for the past 35-40 years without producing any results,” said the Flying Sikh. Speaking about the preparations for the forthcoming Commonwealth Games in 2010, Milkha said less than three years are left and till date no plan for the training and preparation of the players has been prepared. It’s high time that coaches and respective federations start training their players,” he said. “The government and even the federations are trying their level best to host international sporting events in the country. Crores of rupees are being spent on the infrastructure for such events. But it is of no use if other countries take away the medals and our players simply end up as being mere participants. We should first improve ourselves and then think about hosting such events,” added Milkha. “In the absence of regular trials the players are stuck at the same performance levels. The coach should conduct regular trials after every fortnight so that the progress made by the athlete can be monitored closely and steps taken to improve it,” said Milkha, who was recently coveted with the Punjab Bhushan Award.
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IHF to harness youth
Mumbai, April 14 Launching the programme in association with financial conglomerate Citi Group last night IHF President K.P.S. Gill said “under the junior development programme forty players will undergo four years world class training”. Gill said the sponsors were pumping in Rs 20 crore towards the programme and “the IHF will also chip in and contribute financially”. An IHF Development team consisting of 18 players are taking part in the ongoing Bombay Gold Cup Tournament here and the rest would be chosen by four newly appointed junior selectors by watching the Junior Nationals in Guntur from today. IHF secretary K. Jothikumaran informed that under the youth programme, the players would be given exposure by participating in tournaments not only in the country but also abroad. Selectors would pick up the best available talent to form the required pool of players from six zonal selection centres. The final group of players would then undergo a training at one place, the venue of which has not been decided yet.
— PTI
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We can repeat Doha show: Shooting coach
Chandigarh, April 14 Dhillon, DIG, CRPF, Jalandhar Range, was the shooting coach during the Doha games. This time again he has been selected the coach of the Indian shooting team for the world cups in Sydney (April 25 to May 3) and Bangkok (May 3 to May 11). Talking to The Tribune today, Dhillon said he was quite optimistic about winning medals this time also, but his eyes are set on the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He said the Indian team had created history during the Doha games by winning three gold medals. In the Busan Asian Games, shooters had won only two silver. Dhillon, recipient of the Maharaja Ranjit Singh Award in shooting, is confident of bagging more Olympic quotas during the world cups. He has pinned hopes on Harveen Srao and Amanpreet, both from Punjab, in the 10m air pistol women’s and men’s events, respectively; Tejaswini Sawant of Maharashtra, a Commonwealth gold medallist, in the 10m air rifle women’s event; Samresh Jung of the CISF, a winner of five medals in the Commonwealth Games, in the 10m air pistol; Sonia Rai of the CISF and Shweta Chaudhary of Indian Airlines in the 10m air pistol; Pemba Tamang and Vijay Kumar, both of the Army, in the rapid fire event. He said both Pemba and Vijay are capable of bagging berths for the Olympics. “Shooting, though an expensive game, is fast catching up in India. Today, Punjab has world-class shooting ranges. The shooters have a great future at the international level and if provided better resources they can easily win more medals,” said the former international shooter. Dhillon’s association with shooting dates back to the 80s. He represented India in the 9th Asian Games in New Delhi in 1982. He was the coach of the Indian team at the ISSF World Cup at Guangzhou, China, where Gagan Narang won the gold medal and earned the first quota place for the Olympics in 10m air rifle category.
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Kolkata, April 14 Blatter, who arrived at 8.55 pm by a special chartered flight from Zurich, was given a traditional Indian welcome at the airport. All-India Football Federation President Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi and West Bengal Sports Minister Subhas Chakraborty, were among those who received Blatter. Blatter is the first FIFA chief to come on an official visit to India. Earlier, the then FIFA president Joao Havelange had visited New Delhi in 1982, but that was only a customary presence at the ninth Asian Games. — PTI
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Jeev misses the cut
Hilton Head Island, April 14 Tied 35th after first round, Jeev could not have asked for a worse possible start as he began by dropping a shot in the very first hole, spoilt it further by double-bogeying the second and followed it up with successive bogeys on the third and fourth. Even five birdies could not save the day for him as he came up with four bogeys and two double bogeys returning an abysmal three-over 73 thus knocking himself out of the weekend action.
Shiv withdraws Shanghai:
Tied 53rd overnight, Ghei began on a disastrous note with a bogey on the very first hole and went on to drop five more bogeys and a double bogey on the 14th. He could manage only three birdies in all for a horrendous five-over 76 score. Meanwhile, Shiv Kapur, who was tied 34th after two rounds, withdrew from the tournament.
— UNI
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Sridhar bows out
New Delhi, April 14 Sridhar lost 19-21, 14-21 to the veteran shuttler to bow out of the championship.
— PTI
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