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Kumble heaps misery on England Pawar reiterates BCCI stand |
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Bhajji spins Surrey to upset win
Sania bows out in close finish
Pak bank on Sania’s glamour
DEBUT AT LAST: David Beckham (C) of the Los Angeles Galaxy handles the ball against Clyde Simms (L) and Jamie Moreno (R) of DC United at RFK in Washington, DC, on Thursday. DC united defeated the LA Galaxy 1-0. — AFP photo
PSPB rewards sportspersons
Ajeetesh loses in sudden death
Harveen grabs air pistol gold
Boxers win 3 bronze
CBSE tourney at Subathu
Spikers beat Pak, lead 2-1
Sirsa clinch soccer title
Sub-junior chess meet at Amritsar
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Kumble heaps misery on England
India slammed the door on England’s face by accumulating 664 — the highest total by either side against each other ever — in the first innings of the third Test, leaving the hosts practically no prospect of drawing level in the series. Indeed, at the conclusion of the second day, with England struggling at 24 for one — which could have been worse but for another howler from umpire Ian Howell — it was more pertinent to ask if India could win the series 2-0. An unbeaten 110 by Anil Kumble — his maiden Test hundred — and an 81-ball 92 from Mahendra Singh Dhoni bejewelled a day of stately sunshine and underpinned the Indian dominance. The latter did not quite relish rising deliveries from the towering Chris Tremlett, but coped with them quite effectively. Anything over-pitched was driven with power and precision. James Anderson was, in fact, once slammed through the covers with astonishing velocity. In the afternoon, Dhoni moved up a gear in a manner of manoeuvring his favourite motorbikes. After he had on-driven Monty Panesar for four to reach his 50, his next 42 runs mushroomed volcanically off a mere 16 balls. Kumble added 91 runs with him for the seventh wicket, before posting his century, which included a superb six to the pavilion at the expense of Monty Panesar. Unaccustomed to celebrating a hundred, he excitedly raised his bat, but forgot to take off his helmet, which he then corrected. His jubilation seemed to exceed his manifold bowling triumphs. Not a single English bowler escaped punishment as Anderson’s four wickets came at 45.5 runs apiece and Ryan Sidebottom complained of a side strain after his stint. Dhoni smashed four sixes. He twice blasted Panesar to long-on in the same over, and followed this by on driving and pulling Kevin Pietersen off consecutive deliveries. But unable to resist himself, he launched into this occasional off-spinner’s succeeding ball, as well, only to hole out to a diving catch by Alastair Cook at deep midwicket. For the third time in this series and twice in this Test, an Indian batsman had perished in the 90s. Resuming in the morning, Tendulkar and Laxman weathered the second new ball, which was less than seven overs old. Laxman once just tapped at Anderson and the ball raced away to the extra cover fence towards Archbishop Tenison’s school, a 242-year-old institution that’s stood the test of time even longer than this august venue. He was extended a life by Matt Prior at 41, but celebrated this by pulling Tremlett to the midwicket boundary to nail his 50. Indeed, as Tendulkar added only six runs to his overnight score — en route to a notably nondescript 82 — Laxman realised 31. Having done so, though, he was caught by Prior to sarcastic cheers from the crowd. Scoreboard India (1st innings) Karthik c Prior b Sidebottom 91 Jaffer c Pietersen b Anderson 35 Dravid b Anderson 55 Tendulkar c Strauss b Anderson 82 Ganguly lbw Collingwood 37 Laxman c Prior b Tremlett 51 Dhoni c Cook b Pietersen 92 Kumble not out 110 Zaheer c Anderson b Panesar 11 RP Singh c&b Anderson 11 Sreesanth c Vaughan b Panesar 35 Extras (b-33, lb-13, w-2, nb-6) 54 Total (all out, 170 overs) 664 Fall of wickets: 1-62, 2-189, 3-199, 4-276, 5-354, 6-417, 7-508, 8-570, 9-591. Bowling: Sidebottom 32-8-93-1, Anderson 40-5-182-4, Tremlett 40-6-132-1, Panesar 45-5-159-2, Collingwood 7-1-11-1, Pietersen 6-0-41-1 England (1st innings) Strauss c Sreesanth b Zaheer 6 Cook not out 12 Anderson not out 5 Extras (nb-1) 1 Total (1 wkt, 8 overs) 24 Fall of wicket: 1-12. Bowling: Zaheer 4-2-12-1, Sreesanth 3-0-11-0, Kumble 1-0-1-0.
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‘ICL out and out a commercial venture’
New Delhi, August 10 The BCCI said the players were free to play for the ICL but it was only "fair" that they should not expect benefits and privileges from the Board. Responding to Congress General Secretary Digvijay Singh's letter urging cricket board to give up its confrontationist attitude against the League, President Sharad Pawar said the BCCI was a non-profit organisation and what it had done to popularise cricket was "eminently obvious". "You are right in saying that the players should be free to 'opt and play as per their own wish'. It is most certainly up to the players to choose whether they wish to play under the banner of the BCCI or ICL. If they choose to play for the ICL, it is only fair that they should not expect benefits and privileges from BCCI," Pawar said in his reply. "The BCCI has a 75-year-old history and what it has done to promote cricket is eminently obvious. The popularity of cricket in India bear ample testimony to the effort put in by the BCCI," Pawar said in the two-page letter. Pawar said the earnings of the BCCI were spend in financing cricketing activities of various state associations and in augmenting infrastructural facilities. "The BCCI being the non-profit organisation spends the money in financing cricketing activities and augmenting infrastructural facilities in all the states associations."
— PTI
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Bhajji spins Surrey to upset win
London, August 10 Harbhajan took 6-57 to add to his five wickets in the first innings as Kent were bundled out for 171 at Canterbury. That left Surrey needing just 107 to win which they reached in 24 overs as Harbhajan top-scored with 29 off 22 balls to gain crucial points for Surrey to avoid relegation from Division One. This was only the second win for Surrey this season in the championship. The Indian off-spinner’s feat was remarkable as the match was played on a green top and the star-studded Kent chose to bat first. Kent had players like Robert Key, Geraint Jones, South African Martin van Jaarsveld, Pakistan’s Yasir Arafat and Sri Lankan Lasith Malinga.
— PTI
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Sania bows out in close finish
Los Angeles, August 10 Sania was ousted by the 52nd ranked French woman, who pulled off 6-1 7-6 (6) win to reach the quarterfinals of the Tier II tournament yesterday. The Indian star, who reached her career-best 30th rank after defeating at least five top-20 players in the recent weeks, said she was tired and could not give her best in the match. “I have been playing great tennis for the last four weeks. I am mentally and physically tired right now,” Sania said. “Not taking anything away form her, she played very well. “There is a lot of depth to women's tennis. She played a great match and I didn't. I was not playing my best and she came out firing. It was not a great match. I did not even play close to what I usually play," she added. Sania, who clinched a three-setter doubles win alongside her American partner Bethanie Mattek a day before, said the match had drained her off. “Yes, I think the doubles took a lot out of me since it was a very close match. I would have liked to have an off day but...”. The Indo-US duo next faces second seeded pair of Czech Kveta Peschke and Australian Rennae Stubbs. Sania said she tried hard to put up a fight but lost on her bad day. "I am a very short tempered person off the court. On the court I am not as bad. I was fighting so hard and I started playing better. I changed the plan. I went to a different plan. I mean it is a clean winner and she over-ruled the sidelined. She got pissed and I lost.” — PTI
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Pak bank on Sania’s glamour
Karachi, August 10 According to local media, Pakistan Tennis Federation
(PTF) officials are planning to invite Sania to play a mixed doubles event with Indian great Leander Paes and the country's new tennis star
Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi and Nida Waseem. "It'll be cool. I mean such a competition can really help raise the profile of tennis in Pakistan," said
Aisam, who reached the second round of Wimbledon and then won hat-trick of ATP Challenger titles with Indian partner Rohan
Bopanna. — PTI
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Jeev makes bad start
Tulsa (USA), August 10 Daniel Chopra, the Swede with an Indian connection, also shot a six-over 76 but with six-over on the front nine, which was his second nine. Both Jeev and Chopra were tied 103rd at the year’s fourth and final Major Championship at the Southern Hills Country Club. But all is not lost, as Jeev and Chopra could still make the weekend action with a decent par round as the cut could be in the vicinity of seven-over. The surprise leader was England’s Graeme Storm, who shot a superb five-under 65 and took sole lead. Jeev, the reigning UBS Asian Tour Order of Merit champion, playing his fourth successive Major, had a fine start with a one-under comprising two birdies and a bogey on the front nine. But he then ran into trouble at the Southern Hills and went seven over for back nine, including one triple bogey on the par-four 12th and then a double on the closing 18th. He also had bogeys on the 15th and 16th. Randhawa caught severe cold and cough soon after landing in Tulsa. He had to go and see a doctor and hospital and needed to be observed. He is likely to fly back once he is better slightly and will take a week or two off. Woods missed a lot of putts and ended with a one-over 71 in tied 23rd and Phil Mickelson, who has missed the cut in the last two Majors, was three-over 73 in tied 53rd. Atwal lies 63rd
Moosic (USA): Arjun Atwal, who leads the putting averages on the Nationwide Tour, found his putting form deserting him as he managed only a one-under 70 in the opening round of the Northeast Pennsylvania Classic golf tournament. Atwal, with his 70, is lying 63rd and needs to improve quickly to have a chance of moving from his current 46th place on the Nationwide Money List to come into the top 25 for a PGA Tour card for 2008. Atwal, starting on the 10th, had birdies on the 15th, first and eighth, while his only blemish of the day was a double bogey on the third. Meanwhile, Chad Collins shot a nine-under 62 to take the lead. Building on his five top-20 finishes in last six starts, Collins took a two-shot lead over Jim McGovern, Jeff Curl and Chris Anderson in the opening round of this week’s Northeast Pennsylvania Classic.
— PTI
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Beckham gets 20 minutes on the field
Washington, August 10 Though neither side scored during Beckham's time on the pitch, giving United a 1-0 victory, it hardly mattered to the sold-out crowd of 46,686 at RFK Stadium. The 32-year-old England midfielder was cheered wildly each time he touched the ball. ''It was a great reaction, very honouring,'' Beckham told reporters. ''But it was also great for me to be back on the pitch. I'm happy to actually get out there and kick a soccer ball for 20 minutes.'' Beckham had been nursing a sore left ankle since playing 16 minutes in a friendly against Chelsea on June 21. While Beckham fans had been frustrated and disappointed he had not been playing over last three weeks, the player said he was not ready to return to the line-up. He admitted he played with ''hesitation'' yesterday while trying to shake off the rust. ''There was tenderness (in the ankle) and I'm sure there will be for a while because it's not an injury that just clears up and gets perfect right away,'' he said. ''There's going to be a certain amount of reaction from it tomorrow. But it's a big forward step for me tonight. Getting 20 minutes, I was happy for that.'' — Reuters
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PSPB rewards sportspersons
New Delhi, August 10 They included two players who have been chosen for the Arjuna Award this year, Chetan Anand (badminton) and Subhajit Saha (table tennis), and a Dronacharya awardee, Koneru Ashok, father of chess prodigy Koneru Humpy. Chetan was accompanied by his wife, Jwala Gutta, a badminton star herself, while newly married Subhajit was accompanied by his wife Nandita, also a TT player. Former Olympian MM Somaya, a member of India’s last Olympic gold-winning team (Moscow, 1980), was given the lifetime achievement award, while ace shooter Jaspal Rana was presented the sportsperson of the year award. Though Virender Sehwag, who has been selected for the Twenty20 World Cup team, was the cynosure of all eyes, he mostly kept away from the media. Other prominent sportspersons honoured were Mandip Kaur, Sandeep Dhillon, Pankaj Advani, Alok Kumar, Koneru Humpy, Karan Rastogi, Gautam Gambhir, Munaf Patel, Mithun Manhas, Saina Nehwal, Tushar Khandekar, S. Sreesanth, Wasim Jaffer, Rohit Sharma and Rohan Bopanna. The cricket and tennis stars, who are presently playing abroad, were represented by their relatives.
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Ajeetesh loses in sudden death
Chandigarh, August 10 The sudden-death playoff on the par-four 375-yard first hole saw Jha teeing off with a massive 368-yard drive with the ball rolling in just short of the green. Ajeetesh’s tee-off shot missed the fairway. His second shot saw the ball still 20 yards from the pin. On the other hand, Jha chipped his second shot just 4 ft from the pin and then ended up with a birdie. Ajeetesh tried but failed to birdie and with it lost his chance of winning his first major amateur tournament. This was the second time that Ajeetesh had missed a sudden-death title race. The last time, Manav Das of Ambala had defeated him in the playoff for the Noida Open title. Jha played a steady game. He made it a point to make up for a bogey on the very next hole. He birdied the second, but dropped a stroke on the third. He recovered to birdie the fourth, but again bogeyed on the fifth. He birdied the ninth to turn at one-under. On the back nine, Jha bogeyed the 11th and 12th, but came back with a birdie on the 15th. He again dropped a shot on the 16th but sealed the last hole with a birdie for a par-72 card. “I am really delighted to win my first amateur tour title at Golden Greens, which I consider as one of the toughest golf courses in the country,” said the champion golfer from Eagleton. Ajeetesh started badly with a bogey on the second. He came back with a birdie on the sixth, but dropped a shot on the ninth to take the turn at one over. On his return leg, Sandhu birdied the 12th, double-bogeyed the 16th and bogeyed the 17th for a card of 75. Mithun Perera brought in a final round card of one-under 71 to share the third place with overnight leader Vikram Rana at 300. ONGC’s Rana shot a 78 today. Jasjeet Singh, Gagan Verma and Rakesh Kumar finished tied fifth at 301. While Jasjeet shot a 78, Verma and Kumar brought in cards of 75 and 72, respectively. Jaipur’s Amanjyot Singh shot a level-par 72 to finish tied eighth with Manav Das at 303. Das shot a 79 today.
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Harveen grabs air pistol gold
Bangkok, August 10 Harveen shot 96, 99, 97, 96 in four rounds to aggregate 388. In the final, she shot the score of 98.1 to take her total to 486.1. While fancied Olena Kostevich finished second as she shot 384 in her four rounds and in the final she shot 99.5 to make her total 483.5. Her Olympic winning score was 483.3 at Athens in 2004. Mozgalova Kira (Russia) was third with a total score of 481.8. India also won a bronze medal with a total team score of 1143 which included Sitwita Chaudhary's total of 383 (93, 97, 96, 97) coming ninth in the even while Lakhbir Kaur's with 372 points gave him 41st position.
— UNI
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New Delhi, August 10 Sanjay Kolte (light flyweight) lost to Wu Rongguo of China 11-21, while Jai Bhagwan (lightweight) was thrashed 10-22 by Valentino Dominica of Italy in the last-four stage bout yesterday. Earlier, Dinesh (lightweight) had lost to Lei Yupung of China in the quarterfinals played on Wednesday. Manoj (light welterweight) and Dilbag (light heavyweight) had suffered defeats in the quarterfinals of the tournament being contested by boxers from 16 countries. — PTI
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CBSE tourney at Subathu
Chandigarh, August 10 Several CBSE-affiliated schools from Shimla, Solan and Sirmaur districts are participating in the tournament. The chairman of the Sahodaya Schools, Pawan Kumar, Principal, JNV, Theog, and the secretary of the Sahodaya Schools, Shimla Chapter, Dr V. Singh, Principal, DAV School, Lakkar Bazaar, have taken the initiative to promote the event. Chunni Lal, secretary, HP Badminton Association, and Somnath, secretary, HP Table Tennis Association, will conduct the tournament. Dr Ravi Rai, Principal, JNV, Kunihar (Solan), will declare the tournament open on August 16.
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Spikers beat Pak, lead 2-1
Chennai, August 10 India raised their game by several notches and also strengthened their blocking, blunting the Pakistan spikers to win 25-21, 25-20, 26-24. Pakistan spikers found their touch in the third game and put India under pressure, taking a 20-18 lead, but caved in to some devastating spiking by Pradeep and Sube Singh. India levelled 24-24 and scored two points in a row to wrap up the match. While India won the first “Test”, Pakistan drew level in the second, both at Visakhapatnam.
— UNI
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Sirsa clinch soccer title
Rewari, August 10 The third place was secured by Moti Lal Nehru School of Sports, Rai (Sonepat). In the under-14 final, Rewari routed Fatehabad 4-1 here yesterday. Sirsa finished third. Irrigation and revenue minister Capt Ajay Singh Yadav gave away the prizes to the winners today. He also announced Rs 1 lakh for the local Saini Senior Secondary School, where the tournament was held. A total of 21 teams from various districts of the state participated in the five-day event.
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Sub-junior chess meet at Amritsar
Amritsar, August 10 General secretary of the association Anuj Shingari said the championship would be held in under-7, under-9, under-11, under-13 and under-15 categories. Top four players of under-15 category would represent Punjab in the forthcoming nationals.
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India slammed the door on England’s face by accumulating 664 — the highest total by either side against each other ever — in the first innings of the third Test, leaving the hosts practically no prospect of drawing level in the series.
PGA Championship
