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Dravid, Sachin have a blast in Bristol
Vaughan mulls ODI return |
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Sania-Mara in semis
Kyrgyzstan rout B’desh
Federation
Cup soccer
Restrain BCCI, ICL asks court
Shukla returns to the fold
CAB adopts tough stance on Eden
Shoaib let off with
warning
Pak umpire sent packing
Kapur impresses on Day One
Rewari bag handball title
Bhullar improves, Gurbaaz slumps
Sood brothers advance in doubles
Sidana shines for Punjab
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Dravid, Sachin have a blast in Bristol
Bristol, August 24 In a strong reply, England were 98 for 2 after 15 overs, having lost the wickets of openers Alastair Cook (36) and Matt Prior (33) to Munaf Patel. Earlier, Tendulkar fell for 99, yet again to an unlucky decision, but Dravid’s unbeaten 92 from just 63 balls ensured the tourists lost neither the moment nor the plot in the latter half of the innings. Sourav Ganguly made a composed 39 in a century partnership with Tendulkar, while Yuvraj Singh hit a quicksilver 49 to cap a fine batting performance by India in the day-night encounter at the Bristol County Ground. Tendulkar, who put on 113 runs with Ganguly, was adjudged caught behind by home umpire Ian Gould although TV replays showed Andrew Flintoff’s awkward bouncer had only touched that part of his left-arm inside the arm-guard. Yuvraj was going great guns when he chased a rank outside off delivery and spooned it to point for 49 with still 10 overs left in the Indian innings. And although Mahendra Singh Dhoni (21) did not last long, Dravid’s ferocious knock saw to it that India did not lack any firepower in the closing stages. Dravid was in a punishing mood as he slammed 11 fours and a six, a square driver over point off James Anderson. Tendulkar was denied the joy of adding to his collection of 41 one-day hundreds. Just when the capacity crowd of 15,000 at the Bristol County Ground had warmed up to the moment, umpire Gould left Tendulkar stunned. Incidentally, bad luck has been chasing Tendulkar in the 90s right through this tour. He missed out on two hundreds in the one-day series against South Africa in Ireland. Then again, in the recent Test series against England, umpire Simon Taufel ruled him out lbw for 92 off Chris Tremlett in the second Test at Nottingham. So, this was the fourth occasion on this tour that Tendulkar had been dismissed in the 90s. Flintoff was the most successful England bowler with 5-56. And soon his wristy elegance saw him repeating the dose to James Anderson as he deposited him in the same region thrice in next couple of overs. For variety, he played a gorgeous cover drive off Broad that had class written all over it. When Flintoff was introduced into the attack, Tendulkar smashed him for two consecutive fours. Ganguly was remarkably quiet, after having square driven Anderson magnificently for his first boundary, as he enjoyed a ring side view of Tendulkar’s fireworks from the non-striker’s end. He then got into the mood slapping Tremlett past point. In the 17th over, he suddenly exploded, hitting the same bowler for a six over long-on, besides smashing him for two fours in an over costing 17 runs. Ganguly chanced his arm once too often and paid the penalty in the 20th over. He gave Flintoff the charge, but got a top edge for Paul Colingwood to take an easy skier running back.
— PTI
Scoreboard
Ganguly c Collingwood b Flintoff 39 Tendulkar c Prior b Flintoff 99 Yuvraj c Collingwood
b Broad 49 Dravid not out 92 Dhoni c Tremlett b Anderson 21 Karthik lbw Flintoff 1 Agarkar c Prior b Flintoff 1 Powar c Prior b Flintoff 1 Chawla not out 1 Extras (lb-8, w-9, nb-8) 25 Total (7 wkts, 50 overs) 329 Fall of
wickets: 1-113, 2-180, 3-243, 4-302, 5-310, 6-324, 7-326. Bowling: Broad 9-0-54-1, Anderson 10-1-56-1, Flintoff 10-0-56-5, Tremlett 9-0-73-0, Mascarenhas 4-0-31-0, Collingwood 4-0-24-0, Bopara 4-0-27-0.
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The Yorkshire batsman hopes his decision to stand down could "unleash the shackles" on his run-scoring potential, if he is given another chance in limited-overs internationals. Vaughan gave up the one-day captaincy following England's disappointing World Cup campaign in the Carribean earlier this year. He has since been dropped from the England squads for the ongoing seven-match one-day series against India and next month's inaugural Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa. Vaughan, 32, says he remains available for one-day cricket, if selected.He has also regularly admitted to being mystified at his mediocre limited-overs average of 27.15 - compared to a Test figure in the mid-40s - and is hoping that the new freedom from leading the team could help him perform. "Maybe by playing as a non-captain will just unleash the shackles, and I just go out and just have a go and I become a better player," he told the NatWest cricket website. Should he be granted the opportunity to add to his 86 one-day caps, Vaughan can expect to be doing so under Paul Collingwood, who replaced him in charge of the one-day team. "Only time will tell - but certainly in a year if I'm fit and firing I'd like another opportunity. But that's down to 'Colly' to select me," he added. Before then, Vaughan has a word of warning for England in the ongoing seven-match series against India - to beware an unlikely danger man in the tourists' ranks. Off-spinner Ramesh Powar is not top of most people's lists as the man most likely to haul India back from an opening defeat at the Rose Bowl on Tuesday. But Vaughan insisted, "He's a clever, clever bowler who will be a big threat to us in the middle period. "He's got very consistent wickets - gone for less than three-and-a-half an over for the majority of the games he's played - so there'll be a big, big questions to be answered
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Sania-Mara in semis
New Haven, August 24 The third-seeded Indo-Italian won 6-3, 7-5 in a duel that lasted one hour. Sania-Mara will take on the second-seeded Czech-Australian pair of Kveta Peschke and Rennae Stubbs in the last-four stage. Mahesh-Zimonjic enter last four
Mahesh Bhupathi and Nenad Zimonjic advanced to the semifinals with a 7-6, 7-6 win over David Ferrer and Albert Motanes of Spain in the Pilot Pen Tennis Championship here. In the quarterfinal, the top-seeded Indo-Serbian pair pipped their unseeded opponents in one hour and 23 minutes in the $675,000 hardcourt lead-up event to the US Open, which starts on August 27. Bhupathi-Zimonjic now meet another unseeded duo, Eric Butorac (USA) and Ashley Fisher (Australia), in the semis. Butorac-Fisher accounted for the Czech pair of Frantisek Cermak and Leos Friedl 6-2, 6-4 in another quarterfinal. Bopanna, Amritraj bow out
New York: Sunitha Rao is just one step away from making it to the US Open main draw but it was heartbreak for both Rohan Bopanna and Prakash Amritraj, who bowed out in the singles qualifiers here. Sunitha, the highest ranked Indian in WTA charts after Sania Mirza, upset 20th seed Varvara Lepchenko of Uzbekistan 7-5, 6-0 to advance to the final round of women's singles qualifier. The US-based Indian will now be up against second seed Zi Yan of China. However, it was end of the road for Bopanna and the US-based Amritraj. While Bopanna went down 6-4, 6-7, 7-5 to 19th seed Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay in the second round yesterday, Amritraj squandered a one-set lead before losing 6-3, 1-6, 4-6 to Japan's Kei Nishikori in his first-round match. Bopanna's doubles partner and top Pakistani Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi, defeated Brazilian Rogerio Dutra Silva 6-4, 6-1 to advance to the final round of qualifiers. —
PTI
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Kyrgyzstan rout B’desh
New Delhi, August 24 The Central Asian team thrived on a brace by their crafty striker Lut Fullaev, who scored in either half, while attacking medio Djamshidov Ruslan bolstered the lead with a fine strike three minutes after the second goal. Though Bangaldesh tried to keep pace with Kyrgyzstan at the outset, they could not match the former Russian federation team in speed and craft as the game warmed up and had to play second fiddle, particularly after Fullaev scored the first goal in the 20th minute with a clean tap, after Ruslan headed down a cross inside the box. Nine minutes into the second half, Harchenko Vadim floated a cross from the right which was nicely placed in by Fullaev. Three minutes later, Vadim set up yet another crisp cross for Ruslan to score with a low, straight left-footer. Fullaev was named the man of the match for his brace. With six points from two wins and one defeat, Kyrgyzstan have joined India at the second position on the points table, and the match between the two on August 26, which will be the last tie of the round-robin league, will decide the second finalist. Syria have already ensured a place in the final, having won all their three matches, making their last league tie
against Cambodia tomorrow inconsequential. Kyrgyzstan have eight goals against four, while India have seven in favour and two against. Kyrgyzstan had earlier beaten Cambodia 4-3 before losing to Syria 1-4, while India blanked Cambodia 6-0 and edged out Bangaldesh 1-0 before conceding full points to Syria with a 0-2 defeat. India are better placed on goal difference and require only a draw against Kyrgyzstan to qualify for the final, while the latter need to record a victory to pip India to the title round. But the effortless manner in which they pounded Bangladesh today, Kyrgyzstan can prove to be more than a handful for the hosts. No wonder, Indian coach Bob Houghton looked tense as he watched Kyrgyzstan pound Bangladesh tonight.
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Federation Cup soccer
New Delhi, August 24 Sixteen teams - 10 from the last NFL first division and six from the second division NFL - are vying for top honours in the competition to be held at Guru Nanak Stadium from September 4 to 15. The winner of the Federation Cup will qualify for the 2008 AFC Cup Asia’s second tier club competition. If Dempo win the Cup, then
JCT, which finished second in the NFL, will qualify for the AFC Cup. The total prize money for the tournament will be Rs 20 lakh. The winners will take away Rs 10 lakh while the runners-up will pocket Rs 6 lakh. The two semi-finalists will receive Rs 1 lakh each. Schedule: Pre-quarterfinals: Sept 4: JCT vs Vasco Sports Club (4 pm); Mohammaden Sporting vs East Bengal (7 pm); Sept 5: Sporting Club de Goa vs Army XI (4 pm); Mahindra United vs Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (7 pm); Sept 6: Air India vs Viva Kerala (4 pm); Mohun Bagan vs ONGC (7 pm); Sept 7: Dempo vs Chirag United (4 pm); Salgaocar vs Churchill Brothers (7 pm). Quarterfinals: Sept 8 (7 pm); Sept 9 (7 pm), Sept 9 (4 pm), Sept 10 (7 pm). Semifinals: Sept 11 (7 pm), Sept 12 (7 pm). Final: Sept 15 (6.30 pm).
— UNI
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Restrain BCCI, ICL asks court
New Delhi, August 24 The lawsuit filed by ICL sought a direction to the BCCI to allow the ICL to use stadia across the country for its tournaments. It said the pensions given by the BCCI to former players should not be stopped if they joined the ICL. The ICL has also sought that the BCCI should be restrained from using the Tricolour and name of the country as it was accepted by the board before the Supreme Court that it was a private body. The newly formed cricket body by Essel Group wanted that no players should be intimidated by the BCCI for playing with the ICL. The petition will be heard on Monday.
— PTI, UNI
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Shukla returns to the fold
Kolkata, August 24 “I am not enjoying the idea of joining the ICL. My heart is with Bengal and I want to play for the country,” said Shukla. It is a complete volte-face by Shukla who was among the 44 players paraded by the ICL at the unveiling ceremony in Mumbai on August 20. Shukla said he “did not like the atmosphere” of the ICL function and that the Cricket Association of Bengal officials convinced him to remain with the official set-up. Shukla had reportedly told one of his close friends that he had a change of heart after he went to Mumbai where it became clear that the ICL was not giving due weightage to his experience. Though he had already represented the country, he was offered an amount less than what was being given to other players, Shukla seemed to have told his friend.
— PTI
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CAB adopts tough stance on Eden
Kolkata, August 24 Talking to mediapersons here today, the Police Commissioner also said, “The Eden Gardens is meant for domestic cricket as well as for international matches sanctioned by the
BCCI. No other form of cricket can be allowed by the CAB.” “If the CAB allows any sports body not recognised by the BCCI to play cricket here, it itself stands a chance of getting disaffiliated,” he said, clearing the air about West Bengal sports minister Subhas Chakraborty’s comment of even giving out the Eden for ICL matches. Asked to comment on Chakraborty’s comments that the state government will support the
ICL, he said, “I need to talk with him before I make any comment.” — UNI
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Shoaib let off with warning
Lahore, August 24 Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) manager Talat Ali gave the warning after holding a fresh hearing on the orders of the PCB Appellate Tribunal. The Tribunal had earlier set aside the imposition of a fine of Rs 100,000 to Shoaib for skipping national camp later raised to Rs 300,000 by the PCB disciplinary committee after Shoaib's failing to appear before it. In his appeal, the fast bowler had raised the objection that he did not receive the notice summoning him to face a disciplinary committee on time. Talat told The Dawn that he let the fast bowler off with a warning after ''Shoaib had explained that the entire incident was the result of miscommunication.'' The fast bowler was faced with the charge of skipping training camp in Karachi on August 4 without informing the manager. However, the bowler maintained that he only left after informing captain Shoaib Malik.
— UNI
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Pak umpire sent packing
Lahore, August 24 According to 'The Dawn' umpire Dilawar Hussain
Bhatti, who officiated in the four-nation tournament early this month, was asked to pack up and leave on the second day of the event by tournament director for taking two of his nephews into the stadium without
accreditation. Dilawar had also reportedly used official bus to carry his nephews to the venue. When tournament director Ken Read directed Dilawar to remove his two nephews from the venue he had taken them in the umpires' room. This forced Read to cancel Dilawar's accreditation and to order Dilawar's unceremonious exit from the Chinese
city. Dilawar was later given a patient hearing in the presence of Read and umpires' manager Peter Von Reth where he admitted to his actions. The FIH will soon decide on Dilawar's accreditation to the world governing
body. ''Mr Bhatti was nominated by the PHF and accepted by the FIH as an umpire. Unfortunately, the tournament director had to remove his accreditation and arrange for his early return to Pakistan,'' FIH communication manager Arjen Mejier told the newspapers. ''He
(Dilawar) invited two non-accredited members of the public aboard the officials' bus on the morning of August 9. Those persons were thereby able to enter the hockey venue without any security clearance. ''They then entered the stadium with Bhatti when he well knew they did not have accreditation. When instructed by the tournament director to immediately remove the persons from the venue he did not comply. Rather, he placed them away from the view of the tournament director in the umpires' room,'' Mejier said.
''Mr Bhatti's umpiring accreditation with the FIH will be reviewed by the umpiring committee of the
FIH. He will be advised of the outcome of that review in due course.'' — UNI
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Kapur impresses on Day One
Zandvoort, August 24 Frenchman Jean-Baptiste Gonnet, second at the Scandinavian Masters last week, and Japan’s Taichi Teshima both equalled the Kennemer course record of six-under par 64 to take the first-round lead in the European Tour event. Though Kapur managed to turn in a decent card, things were not rosy for Kolkata pro Rahil Gangjee, playing on a special invitation. Gangjee shot a three-over 73 and was 128th, needing a solid score to come back for weekend action. Kapur, starting on the 10th hole, was low-key for the first nine holes as he managed just one birdie and also had one bogey. He dropped a second bogey on the first, but closed very well with three birdies between the fourth and eighth holes for a two-under 68. Avoiding three putts, he had nine single putts and nine two-putts in a tidy round. He scrambled well and made par five out of seven times he missed the greens in regulation. Among other Asian Tour players, Simon Dyson of England enjoyed a steady three-under-par 67 and was in joint 20th place alongside Australia’s Terry Pilkadaris. Tied with Kapur in 32nd spot together was David Bransdon, while South African Anton Haig was even-par for the day in joint 66th place, alongside Singapore’s Mardan Mamat and James Kingston. Atwal lies 68th
Bridgeport (USA): A double bogey on the final hole undid all his good work and Arjun Atwal had to settle for an even-par round to be tied 68th after the opening round at the National Mining Association Pete Dye Classic golf tournament on the Nationwide Tour. Atwal, trying hard to get back to the PGA Tour, was two-under after 17 holes, which did not look too bad, but disaster awaited him on the final hole in the form of a double bogey. At the top of the table, Parker McLachlin made three 30-ft birdies as he fired a nine-under 63 to surge into the lead, two-stroke ahead of the duo of Scott Parel and David Hearn. Chopra falters
Barclays (USA): Daniel Chopra is likely to miss the cut after his nightmarish opening round of 77 but South Korean stalwart KJ Choi blasted seven-under 64 to grab the second spot at the Barclays. It was a highly forgettable round for Chopra, who dropped five bogeys and one double against the lone birdie on the 18th. In contrast, Choi, a former Asian Tour regular, sunk eight birdies against a lone bogey as he trailed leader Rory Sabbatini by a single stroke.
— PTI
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Rewari bag handball title
Rewari, August 24 Rewari bagged the handball title, while Gurgaon and Bhiwani won the hockey and volleyball titles, respectively. The tournament was inaugurated by deputy commissioner Chander Prakash here on August 21, while Ram Singh
Bishnoi, SP, distributed prizes to the winners at the concluding function yesterday. Results: Handball: Rewari 1, Kaithal 2. Hockey: Gurgaon 1, Kaithal 2. Volleyball: Bhiwani 1, Mahendergarh 2. Athletics: 100m: Sudhir
(Sonepat) 1, Satyawan (Bhiwani) 2; 200m: Krishan (Hisar) 1, Dharamvir (Rohtak) 2; 400m: Ravinder
(Gurgaon) 1, Satish (Bhiwani) 2; 1500m: Sanjeev (Rohtak) 1, Shamsher (Bhiwani) 2; 3000m: Karan Singh
(Gurgaon) 1, Shamsher (Bhiwani) 2; 4x100m relay: Amit, Sombir, Rohit and Dharambir
(Rohtak) 1, Satyawan, Rakesh, Aman, Jaivir (Bhiwani) 2; Long jump: Sudhir
(Sonepat) 1, Saurabh(Yamunanagar) 2; High jump: Vipin (Bhiwani) 1, Pradeep
(Bhiwani ) 2; Shot put: Jai Singh (Jhajjar) 1, Lakhwinder Singh (Yamunanagar) 2; Javelin throw: Arvind
(Bhiwani) 1, Virender (Bhiwani) 2; Discus throw: Bhagender Singh (Jind) 1, Ram Pratap
(Panipat) 2.
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Bhullar improves, Gurbaaz slumps
Chandigarh, August 24 His par score on a day of poor light saw the Kapurthala boy jump from tied 61st to tied 43rd as play was suspended at 7 pm (local time) with a number of players, including Chandigarh’s Harmeet Kahlon, still midway through the second round. Harmeet was also tied at the 43rd position with nine holes to go. The second-round matches will resume tomorrow morning. Gurbaaz Mann slumped from tied 18th to tied 69th bogeying six times for a five-over card of 76. He was just one stroke behind the projected cut score. Gaganjeet, who had suffered a string of bogeys on the first day to occupy the 61st spot, had full control over his strokes today. His eagle on the eighth hole with a perfect second shot saw the ball virtually hit and glide into the cup. The eagle came two holes after he had sunk a birdie. But two bogeys on the return nine, as also one on the fifth hole, saw him return a par-71 card for an overall two-round tally of 145. Delhi’s Gaurav Ghei led the Indian challenge with a one-under card after 12 holes in the second round. His two-under overall tally of 117 with six more holes to go gave him the tied sixth slot when play was suspended.
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Sood brothers advance in doubles
Karachi, August 24 In the semifinal, Nasir will take on Chandril Sood who got past Gugan Varma 6-1, 6-4 in an all-Indian quarterfinal. In the other semifinal, Umeet Shinde (India) will face Nuttorn Tanchainant of Thailand. In doubles, the Sood brothers — Chandril and Lakshit — overpowered Nasir and Ahmed Aslam 7-5, 6-3 to move into the semifinals. In the girls section, India's Ratnika Batra and Soniya Dayal set up a semifinal clash. Ratnika beat Natasha Afridi 6-2, 6-2, while Soniya beat Asha Mohan 7-5, 6-2 in the quarterfinal.
— UNI
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Sidana shines for Punjab
Chennai, August 24 Mayank Sidana top-scored with 95, while Pankaj Dharmani contributed 35. For AP, M. Suresh took 6 for 99. In another match, Australia XI took a 42-run lead against Rajasthan. The Aussies’ decision to bat first backfired as they were bowled out for 125 in 46.2 overs, with medium pacer Shailendra Gehlot scything through the innings with a five-wicket haul. Only Phil Huges ploughed a lone furrow with an unbeaten 54. But the Aussies hit back strongly to bundle out Rajasthan for 83 in 37.5 overs, with Roan Harris, Brendan Drew and Steve Smith claiming three wickets each. The visitors were four without loss after one over in their second essay.
— UNI |
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