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Sania bows out of doubles Chopra draws first blood
Anju finishes third in Germany
Hockey colts enter semis Youth Chess Olympiad ‘Generate interest in Olympic sports’ Swimming meet begins 30,000 to run in half marathon
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England on brink of follow-on Kumble becomes third highest wicket-taker in Test history Ashis Ray writes from The Oval Looming into the sky just beyond the eastern stands at this ground is a network of gas works or a giant gas holder, built in the 19th century. It used to store coal gas, then methane or natural gas for supply to consumers. It was as if a leak had developed in this listed structure to slow-poison England. Half-centuries by Alastair Cook (61), Paul Collingwood (62) and Ian Bell (63) delayed the inevitable. Wickets, then, fell in a heap — four in 45 balls. With Zaheer Khan again leading the charge with a return of three for 32, England were 326 for nine — still 139 runs adrift of saving the follow-on. They were, as it were, clinging to the white cliffs of Dover with their fingertips, with the unavoidable watery hazard of the English Channel below them. It was England’s day of reckoning, but the odds were always against them. The psychological pressure exerted by a monumental Indian first-innings total of 664 was naturally enormous. Besides, with or without cloud cover, the ball tended to swing and arouse puffs of dust on landing. Last but not least, there was more response to spin than can be expected on the third day. But the wicket was still conspiratorial towards batsman willing to concentrate. In such circumstances, Zaheer operated with a new-found mastery, perhaps born out of his match-winning performance in the previous Test. His runs per over were a meagre 1.45, with 13 of his 22 overs being maidens. But Rudra Pratap Singh and S. Sreesanth devalued some incisive deviation with a bag of untidiness. The former, of course, removed an adhesive James Anderson, lingering as nightwatchman, lbw after he had added 66 runs for the second wicket with Cook, whose cuts and drives through the covers were the more distinguished of his nine fours. Rahul Dravid’s carefully laid plan for the left-handed opener, was neutralised by Dinesh Karthik’s butterfingers — not the first time he has demonstrated this lacuna. Sreesanth went around the wicket to bowl one around his leg stump. Cook flicked rather than on-drove. The inside edge went waist high, but the wicketkeeper-turned-fieldsman fumbled and then floored it. RP Singh, from around the wicket, again gave Michael Vaughan a stiff examination. But it was Kumble, ushered in after only seven overs in the morning, who reaped the reward. First, he had Cook front-edging to mid off, before inducing — with a googly and a bit of extra bounce — a return catch from Vaughan. The latter was the wily wrist spinner’s 563rd Test victim, equalling Australian Glenn McGrath’s tally to become the third highest wicket-taker in Test history. Only Shane Warne (708) and Muttiah Muralitharan (700) are ahead of him. England went into lunch at an uncomfortable 124 for four. It was unknown terrain for Kevin Pietersen, whose natural instinct is to dominate bowlers. To his credit, he stuck to the game plan of occupying the crease. Midway through his 107-ball 41, he was, unusually for him, run-less for 23 balls. He came out of his shell to pull and cover drive RP Singh for fours off consecutive overs and work away Sourav Ganguly off his toes to the mid-wicket boundary. But his 78-run stand with an equally watchful Collingwood ended when he drove at a sharply turning Sachin Tendulkar leg break without getting to the pitch of the ball. The outside edge was snapped up by a delighted Dravid at slip. Scoreboard England (1st innings) Strauss c Sreesanth b Zaheer 6 Cook c RP Singh b Kumble 61 Anderson lbw RP Singh 16 Vaughan c&b Kumble 11 Pietersen c Dravid b Tendulkar 41 Collingwood lbw Sreesanth 62 Bell c Dhoni b Zaheer 63 Prior c Tendulkar b Sreesanth 0 Sidebottom c&b Zaheer 2 Tremlett not out 18 Panesar not out 0 Extras (b-16, lb-10, w-10, nb 10) 46 Total
(9 wkts, 96 overs) 326 Fall of wickets: 1-12, 2-78, 3-119, 4-124 5-202, 6-288, 7-303, 8-305, 9-305. Bowling: Zaheer 22-13-32-3, Sreesanth 21-2-80-2, Kumble 26-7-86-2, RP Singh 14-1-63-1, Ganguly 5-1-8-0, Tendulkar
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India’s Man Tenacious
Chandigarh, August 11 fter plotting the downfall of the best of batsmen the world over and authoring numerous victories for the country with his unique brand of leg spin, Kumble donned the mantle of a different kind in the final Test at the Oval. His tenacity saw him accomplish what his more accomplished peers failed to on the tour so far. He has not been to make much of an impression during the tour as a bowler in the earlier two Tests. Not the one to finish the series without a sizeable contribution, the 37-year-old workaholic, most probably in his last series for the country in England, chose the right moment to highlight his value to the side. The peerless knock (110 not out) that the ageing leg-spinner played at the Oval holds immense value to the side and will not be forgotten in a hurry. hanks to knocks from recognised batsmen, India were on the way to ascendancy. An in-form Tendulkar batted beautifully, but the three-figure knock the master batsman was so keen on having under his belt eluded him. All the authority with which Dravid batted, the regal batsmanship of VVS Laxman and inimitable flamboyance of Mahendra Singh Dhoni was not good enough for the coveted three-figure mark. But Kumble virtually staged a coup of sorts, completing his maiden Test century in style. The leg-spinner, in the process, put the Test firmly out of the grasp of the hosts. he valiant knock is sure to be a knockout punch that India were looking for in the quest of their first series win on English soil since the legendary Kapil Dev scripted 2-0 victory in 1986.In fact, the cricketing career of Kumble, the most successful Test bowler for India and the third best overall, is replete with instances which serve as an index of the true character of Kumble as a cricketer. But no incident sums up his grit, never-say-die spirit and doggedness more than Kumble bowling 14 overs with his jaw fractured despite doctors’ advice to the contrary after been hit by a nasty delivery from fast bowler Mervyn Dillon when India toured West Indies last. Kumble has made the Oval Test his own. No matter how others perform during the remainder of it or irrespective of the result, Kumble has left his imprint, that too in style.
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Pathan, Pankaj, Ojha share spoils
New Delhi, August 11 India Test reject paceman Irfan Pathan picked three wickets for 57 runs with fellow fast bowler Pankaj Singh (3 for 35) and left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha (3 for 54) also coming up good to take the bowling honours.But Kenya came back to check Indians' progress by reducing them to 30 for 2 at close, removing captain Mohammad Kaif and Niraj Patel. Parthiv Patel, who was dropped on nought by Ondongo down on the fine-leg boundary, was batting on 19 and Irfan Pathan was not out at 4 when the stumps were drawn yesterday with Indians training Kenya by 188 runs. Earlier, Pathan and Pankaj Singh proved Kaif's decision to field right as Kenya went into tea on 183 for 7.After the interval, India also got the vital wicket of captain Thomas Odoyo, who struck 51 from 108 balls. Odoyo mistimed a pull off Pathan and under-edged the finest of chance to wicketkeeper Mahesh Rawat. — PTI
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Los Angeles, August 11 Sania and her American partner Bethanie Mattek lost to second seeds Australian-Czech duo of Rennae Stubbs and Kveta Peschke 6-7 (2) 4-6 in the quarter-finals. The opening set was a see-saw battle with nothing separating the two pairs. Stubbs and Peschke held on to their nerves to win the first set in tie-breaker and go one up. Sania and Mattek could have levelled the match but the duo wasted five break points in the second set. Bhupathi-Vizner beat Paes-Damm New Delhi: Mahesh Bhupathi and his Czech partner Pavel Vizner upstaged fourth seeds Leander Paes and Martin Damm to set up a semi-final clash with top seeds Bob and Mike Bryan in the $ 2.20 million Rogers Cup in Montreal, Canada. Bhupathi and Vizner, seeded eighth in the event, beat Paes and Damm 7-6 (7) 2-6 10-8.Very little separated the two pairs in the thrilling opening set in which both teams held serve. Paes and Damm did well to save as many as seven break points but Bhupathi and Vizner had the last laugh, taking the set in the tie-breaker.The fourth seeded Indo-Czech duo, however, stormed back into the match in the second set, breaking their opponents twice in the process.But Bhupathi and Vizner recovered from the jolt and held their nerves to seal the issue in a close super tie-breaker.The eighth seeds now have a tough match ahead against the American Bryan brothers, who defeated the French pair of Arnaud Clement and Richard Gasquet 6-2 7-6 (3) in their quarter-final. — Agencies
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Chopra draws first blood
London, August 11 Chopra, who joined Roy Keane’s side in July from Cardiff City, came off the substitutes’ bench to slot home a low shot from inside the penalty area at the Stadium of Light. His side had looked destined to settle for a point after creating few chances but working hard to keep a strong Spurs line-up in check. Spurs manager Martin Jol threw on new £16.5 million forward Darren Bent after the break in a vain attempt to secure victory. Chopra, the second division’s second-highest scorer last season, collected a high cross from Ross Wallace and had time to tee up his shot before finding the bottom right-hand corner. Keane, who steered Sunderland from the relegation zone to the second division title after taking over last season, told Sky Sports News: “I thought the best team won. Another late goal - we had plenty of them last season and hopefully there are more to come...it’s a happy dressing room in there.”
—
Reuters
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Anju finishes third in Germany
New Delhi, August 11 According to information received here today, Anju, who has just managed to qualify for the World Championship to be held in Osaka (Japan) from August 25 to September 2, started poorly clearing 6.48m and 6.39m in her first two attempts. She cleared 6.51m in the third attempt and that turned out to be her best as he fouled next two jumps before finishing with an effort of 6.48m in the last jump. Interestingly, Naide Gomes of Portugal, who won the gold, cleared 6.51m in her first jump while her best of 6.83m came in the second attempt. Bianca Kappler of German finished second with 6.73m which she achieved in her fifth effort.— UNI
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Jeev, Daniel miss cut
Tulsa (USA), August 11 Jeev began well with two birdies in his first three holes raising visions of ensuring action over the weekend, but then followed a series of mistakes which took his tally to 10-over 150, failing to make the cut. It was the second Major in a row that Jeev missed the cut after making weekend play in his first four Majors. Also missing the cut was Daniel Chopra, who added a 73 to his first round 76 and finished at nine-over 149. Tiger Woods came close to history, nearly becoming the first player to shoot a 62 in Major golf competitions before settling for a 63 which gave him a two-shot lead over Scott Verplank. Asia's star continued to be K J Choi who added a second straight one-over-par 71 for tied 19th position at the halfway stage of the year's final Major. Choi made 17 pars and one bogey at Southern Hills Country Club and his two-day total of 142 left him eight shots behind leader Tiger Woods, the world's number one. Woods, who has won each of the seven Majors he has led after the second round was on the verge of history when he was on a birdie putt on the 18th. He missed it and had to share the record with 20 others, who had shot a 63 in a Major 23 times. Interestingly, the last six times Southern Hills has hosted a Major, the 36-hole leader has won it. He is two ahead of Scott Verplank, who shot 66 in second and leads Stephen Ames and Geoff Ogilvy by three. Woods played his first five holes in 3 under, making birdie putts of 6, 20 and 8 feet, before a bogey at the seventh hole briefly halted his run.
— PTI
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New Delhi, August 11 T. Blasberg converted a penalty corner in the 11th minute to give the hosts an early lead, but J. Singh levelled the score in the 23rd minute before Pramod struck home in the 67th to secure the victory. In the keenly contested encounter, the Germans had the slight edge due to their attacking approach. They earned five penalty corners in the match, mostly played in the midfield, but the Indian defenders and goalkeeper Sreejesh fended off the threats. In the last-four stage, the undefeated Indians will take on Belgium, while the Netherlands and Spain will fight it out in the other semifinal. — PTI
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Youth Chess Olympiad
New Delhi, August 11 The Indian team comprising B Adhiban, R Ashwath, S Nitin, Shyam Nikhil and Swayams Mishra won seven matches, drew two and lost one to finish on top with 28 points out of 40. This is India’s first-ever chess team title in any category at the world level. Besides the title and the team gold medal, Chennai-lad Adhiban remained the third best scorer among the top board players. He scored 7.5 points out of 10. “We were sure of a medal from this competition but the boys did well to win the gold,” said All-India Chess Federation secretary DV Sundar. The Indians started well, defeating USA 4-0 and trouncing top seeds Hungary 3.5-0.5. The team lost 1-3 to the Philippines in the seventh round but came back to win the last three matches to romp home. Adhiban’s father Baskaran said: “Top seed Hungary could have overtaken us for the title had they won 4-0 against Indonesia.” Woman FIDE Master Irine Sukandar shocked Tamas Fodor of Hungary and it helped India. Hungary could thus win only 3-1 and finished second with 27.5 points. “After India defeated Hungary in the fifth round, we were certain of winning the title,” Baskaran added. Final placings: 1. India, 2. Hungary, 3. Philippines, 4. Uzbekistan.
— PTI
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‘Generate interest in Olympic sports’ New Delhi, August 11 In a letter to the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, the first Arjuna Awardee in athletics and also a Padmashri winner, said the proposed sports policy, the draft of which has been put out in the Sports Ministry's website for reaction from sportspersons and experts, "falls short of detailing a step by step framework for addressing this challenge". Randhawa, who led the Indian contingent for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics where he became the first Asian athlete to reach the Olympic final of the 100m hurdles and was also adjudged the best Asian athlete in 1962 when he held four national records, said presently only around nine to 10 per cent of the total allocated budget for sports reached the sportspersons, and this trend must be reversed if India were to produce truly world class sportspersons, capable of winning medals in Olympic games. He also stressed the need to maintain autonomy of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) as well as the national sports federations by keeping out political and bureaucratic interference. He said a balance in the matter of government interest (particularly with regard to proper utilisation of the financial grants) and autonomy of the sports federations can be struck by expanding the role of the Government observers (mostly experienced sportspersons) who could provide "in-house expertise and report on good governance and transparency of these organisations". Randhawa also pointed out in his two-page letter to the Prime Minister that only 48 per cent of schools in the country possessed some kind of play fields and playing facilities which were woefully short of the national requirements. "Only 30 million of around 210 million school and college-going children have been provided with any sports facility. Unless this situation is rectified, we cannot hope to achieve excellence in sports, since schools and colleges act as the nurseries of future champions", he noted. The veteran Olympian said to make the National Sports Policy "meaningful and effective", the government should provide proper training facilities, incentives and recognition from the school level itself to budding talent.
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Swimming meet begins Rohtak, August 11 The Speaker announced a grant of Rs 1 lakh to the Haryana Swimming Association. He stated that the state government had decided to set up a sports academy on the university premises. Over 10 teams are participating in the championship.
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30,000 to run in half marathon New Delhi, August 11 Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president Suresh Kalmadi said at the official launch of the marathon here that increased prize money, an official training partner, a campaign to attempt a two-fold increase in the amount raised for charity were the exciting extras of the coming marathon race. Harit Nagpal of Hutch said his company would once again be the main sponsors while Jindal Steel will be the associate sponsors, to bring in substantial sponsorship amount for the prestigious marathon. Kalmadi said the enormous response received for the first two editions of the international marathon has bolstered the confidence of the sponsors to be yet again associated with the event, which is expected attract a record participation from across the world as well as India. Kalmadi said the prize money has been raised to $160,000 to make it the richest half marathon in the world, and a separate prize fund for Indian athletes will ensure that the elite runners of the country also get rewarded well for their wins. Legendary British marathoner Hugh Jones will be the technical director of the event while Athletics Federation of India secretary Lalit K Bhanot will be the race director. |
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