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India succumb to Vettori
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‘Death bowling led to defeat’
Morkel stars in SA win over England Isinbayeva, Richards share Golden League jackpot
Arsenal extend unbeaten run over Tottenham
J&K gearing up for Santosh Trophy
Fed Cup
Anand draws with Kramnik
World Rally champ feared dead in copter crash
Marathon feat by 75- year- old
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India succumb to Vettori
Johannesburg, September 16 India got off to a rollicking start with Gautam Gambhir's impressive 51 and Virender Sehwag's swashbuckling 17-ball 40 but failed to maintain the tempo in the middle overs as Vettori completely changed the complexion of the game with a remarkable figures of 4 for 20. Needing a stiff 191 for a win, Sehwag gave India a blazing start, putting on 76 runs in 5.5 overs for the first wicket with Gambhir. However, once Sehwag was dismissed India was pushed to the corner. New Zealand's excellent out cricket also added to India's degree of difficulty. Vettori bowled a brilliant spell in the middle overs and India could never recover from the soft dismissals of their key men in Robin Uthappa (0), Yuvraj Singh (5) and Mahendra Singh Dhoni (24). Once they were out of the way, India crawled in the last five overs scoring just 35 runs. In contrast, New Zealand had scored 78 runs in their last five overs and that puts things in the right perspective. Sehwag put up a breath-taking performance as he batted with a vengeance, getting into the mood as early as the second over, taking 15 runs of Mark Gillespie with a six over mid-wicket and two blazing fours. But it was the manner in which he roughed up off spinner Jeetan Patel, taking 20 runs in his first over, in the fifth over that defeated the Kiwi skipper's gamble to tease the batsmen by pressing his off spinner even when the field restrictions were in force. Sehwag made the bowler look red in his face as he hit him for three fours and a six over long-off. Having given India the start they were looking for, Sehwag fell to Jacob Oram when he hit him to mid-wicket where Scott Styris took a fine catch. Sehwag's knock included 6 fours and 2 sixes. Gambhir took a cue from his senior partner and turned the heat on Shane Bond taking 18 runs in his second over hitting him for three fours and a six. Gambhir first pulled Bond for a six over mid-wicket before finding an edge that carried to the fence at third man. He then went over cover and followed it up with a classical cover drive. With 95 needed off the last 10 overs, Gambhir took the aerial route, hitting Vettori for a six over long-on. But the bowler had his revenge in the same over when he saw the batsman charging, and pushed one down the leg side, and as Gambhir went for a pull he gloved it to wicketkeeper McCullum down the leg. Jeetan Patel then redeemed himself when he picked the big wicket of Yuvraj Singh just when India needed him to play some big shots. Yuvraj top edged a sweep to Ross Taylor at mid-wicket for 7. Dhoni (24) was getting into the groove straight driving Patel to the fence and pulling Styris with disdain to keep up with the tall asking rate. However, he was guilty of going for a difficult run from the non-striker's end and failed to beat a throw from Vettori at extra cover. — PTI Scoreboard New Zealand: Vincent c Karthik b R P
Singh 3 McCullum c Gambhir b Harbhajan 45 Fulton lbw b Harbhajan 21
Taylor lbw b Yuvraj 11 Styris run out 2 McMillan run out 44 Oram
c Singh b Sreesanth 35 Vettori b R P Singh 15 Bond run out 4
Gillespie not out 0 Patel run out 0 Extras (lb-6, w-4) 10 Total
(all out in 20 overs) 190 Fall of wickets: 1-11, 2-69, 3-86, 4-89,
5-91, 6-164, 7-185, 8-189, 9-190 Bowling: S Sreesanth 3-0-37-1, RP
Singh 4-0-29-2, A Agarkar 4-0-40-0, I Pathan 2-0-16-0, Harbhajan Singh
4-0-24-2, Yuvraj Singh 3-0-38-1. India: Gambhir c McCullum b Vettori
51 Sehwag c Styris b Oram 40 Uthappa c and b Vettori 0 Dhoni run
out 24 Yuvraj c Taylor b Patel 5 Karthick c Bond b Vettori 17 Pathan
b Vettori 11 Agarkar run out 1 Harbhajan c Vettori b Bond 7 Sreesanth
not out 19 R P Singh not out 1 Extras: (lb2, w2) 4 Total (for 9
wkts in 20 overs) 180 Fall of wickets: 1-76, 2-77, 3-104, 4-116,
5-128, 6-146, 7-151, 8-152, 9-163. Bowling: Bond 4-0-39-1, Gillespie
4-0-42-0, Patel 3-0-38-1, Oram 2-0-14-1, Vettori 4-0-20-4, Styris
3-0-25-0.
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Johannesburg, September 16 “Death bowling has been an area of concern, both in England and here. It is very important to bowl well at the death, especially in Twenty20. If you look at New Zealand, they made almost 80 runs in the last five overs. It becomes very crucial,” Dhoni said after the match. Dhoni also rued losing regular wickets in the middle overs which took away the game from them despite getting a flying start. “The start we got, we should have won. In between also, we made the same mistakes that we did in the first game. We kept losing wickets. I had to play a kind of game that doesn’t come naturally to me. Somebody had to be there throughout the innings around whom the others can play. Definitely, we have to work on both areas,” he said. “Not to lose wickets, and that too at regular intervals, is extremely vital. If you look at the Kiwi batsmen too, they play a few balls to get in before going after the bowling. If Dinesh Kaarthik and I had been around till the end, one never knows what might have happened,” Dhoni added. But he explained his decision to use part-time spinner Yuvraj Singh, who was hit for 25 runs in an over. “Bhajji's end had a big wicket area. From that end, even a mistimed shot could have gone over the ropes. That’s why I decided to use Yuvi,” he said. Dhoni also justified his decision of not playing leg-spinner Piyush Chawla. “We have people who can bowl spin. We are relying on batsmen, or bowlers who can bat. Irfan, Harbhajan and Agarkar can contribute with the bat. A lot of teams bat till eight or nine. If Piyush plays, then we are one batsman short, someone who can slog at the end or make runs towards the end. The Jharkhand player said he was confident of chasing the target. The wicket had also not deteriorated but all batsmen are required to contribute. “The track was a bit soft. Throughout the day, the track was good for batting. It didn't deteriorate.” “If all of them chip in, and that is what Twenty20 demands, then it becomes easier. It is not that Yuvraj has a loss of confidence. He is among the best batsmen in the side. One or two innings don't make a huge difference.” The Indian skipper said the team was playing very freely with no pressure of expectation on it and expressed confidence that it would do well in the remaining matches to make the semifinals. — PTI
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Cape Town, September 16 After restricting Bangladesh to 123 for nine, the Aussies cruised to victory with 6.1 overs to spare. Known for their big hitting skills, the opening pair of Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist plundered the rival bowlers all over the park to put on a century partnership. Hayden toyed with the Bangladesh attack to notch up an unbeaten 48-ball 73, including nine fours and three sixes, while Gilchrist made a 28-ball 43, studded with a boundary and four sixes, before being run out in the 12th over. Captain Ricky Ponting (6 not out) joined Hayden to see the world champions home without any further damage. After being put in to bat, Bangladesh were all set for a challenging total after solid performances by opening bat Tamim Iqbal (32 off 40 balls) and Aftab Ahmed (31 off 43 balls). At 108 for three, Bangladesh's progress was throttled by speed merchant Lee who sent back Shakib al Hasan (16), Mashrafe Mortaza (0) and Alok Kapali (0) in back-to-back deliveries to return figures of three for 27 off four overs. After Shakib was caught behind, Mortaza stepped away to try a slog hit but was castled by a slow yorker. Kapali was trapped in front to an inswinging delivery. Bangladesh failed to repeat their impressive showing against South Africa yesterday and were done in by the strategic bowling and inspired fielding performance by the Aussies. — PTI Scoreboard Bangladesh: Tamim c Ponting b Clarke 32 Nazimuddin c Ponting b Johnson 11 Aftab c Hodge b Bracken 31 Ashraful c Symonds b Clark 7 Shakib c Gilchrist b Lee 16 Mortaza b Lee 0 Kapali lbw b Lee 0 Farhad c Hussey b Bracken 4 Mushfiqur Rahim not out 3 Abdur Razzak not out 0 Extras (b-1, lb-2, w-11, nb-5) 19 Total (for 8 wickets in 20 overs) 123 Fall of
wickets: 1-40, 2-65, 3-82, 4-108, 5-108, 6-108, 7-120, 8-120 Bowling: B Lee 4-0-27-3, N Bracken 3-0-14-2, SR Clark 4-0-13-1, MG Johnson 4-0-28-1,A Symonds 2-0-10-0, M Clarke 3-0-28-1, Australia: Gilchrist run out 43 Hayden not out 73 Ponting not out 6 Extras (w-1, nb-1) 2 Total
(for 1 wicket in 13.5 overs) 124 Fall of wickets: 1-104 Bowling: Mortaza 3.5-0-27-0, Syed Rasel 2-0-25-0, Abdur Razzak 4-0-34-0, Shakib 2-0-15-0, Kapali 2-0-23-0.
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Morkel stars in SA win over England
Cape Town, September 16 Morkel scored 43 in South Africa’s total of 154 for eight and claimed two for 12 in England's reply of 135 for seven. Morkel faced 20 balls and hit three fours and four sixes, three of them consecutively off leg-spinner Schofield. Number seven batsman Morkel came to the crease in the 15th over after South Africa had slumped to 91 for five, and six balls later they were 94 for six. Pace bowler Stuart Broad led England's disciplined bowling performance with a haul of three for 37, but they did themselves no favours by dropping five catches. South Africa reduced England to 27 for three before opener Matt Prior and Owais Shah stood firm with a partnership of 55. Medium pacer Morkel had Prior caught at deep cover for 32 before bowling Shah for 36 in his next over to halt England's momentum. England's last real hope of winning was snuffed out in the 19th over when Johan van der Wath shattered Andrew Flintoff's stumps for 17. — Reuters Scoreboard South Africa: Smith c Mascarenhas b Broad 19 Duminy c Prior b Broad 0 De Villiers c Prior b Flintoff 18 Kemp c Prior b Mascarenhas 21 Boucher c Pietersen b Schofield 29 Pollock c Prior b Anderson 0 JA Morkel c Snape b Flintoff 43 Philander b Broad 6 JJ van der Wath not out 9 Extras (lb-2, w-7) 9 Total (for 8 wkts, 20 overs) 154 Fall of
wickets: 1-8, 2-33, 3-42, 4-91, 5-91, 6-94, 7-133, 8-154 Bowling: Anderson 4-0-22-1, Broad 4-0-37-3, Flintoff 4-0-23-2, Mascarenhas 3-0-24-1, Schofield 4-0-34-1, Snape 1-0-12-0. England: Wright c de Villiers b Pollock 0 Prior c Philander b JA Morkel 32 Pietersen run out 15 Collingwood c Kemp b Pollock 0 Shah b JA Morkel 36 Flintoff b van der Wath 17 Snape c de Villiers b M Morkel 7 Mascarenhas not out 15 Schofield not out 6 Extras (lb-5, w-2) 7 Total (for 7 wkts, 20 overs) 135 Fall of
wickets:1-0, 2-24, 3-27, 4-82, 5-98, 6-113, 7-120 Bowling: Pollock 4-1-17-2, Ntini 4-0-29-0, M Morkel 4-0-20-1, JJ van der Wath 4-0-30-1, Philander 2-0-22-0, JA Morkel 2-0-12-2
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Isinbayeva, Richards share Golden League jackpot
Berlin, September 16 The 25-year-old Russian Isinbayeva cleared a height of 4.82 metres after compatriot Svetlana Feofanova failed at her third attempt. And although the world champion failed at her three attempts to beat her own record of 5.01 metres, she was all smiles having dominated the field and was never really under pressure. “I am so happy, it was a great experience,” she said. Just moments before Richards had destroyed the 400 metres field to win in 49.27 secs, the fastest time this year, well ahead of Britain’s world champion Christine Ohuruogu time of 50.40 seconds. Having failed to win a 400 metres place at Osaka's World Championships last month after losing out in the US trial, Richards said the money would go some way to null her pain of missing her chance to take world gold. "It helps a little bit. I have had a tough year with the 400 so it is great to come out and have a winning streak at the end of the year.” “It feels great to have run such a fast time and I hope I can run 48 seconds in Stuttgart next weekend.” With no Tyson Gay in Berlin, American Wallace Spearmon, who was third in Osaka, comfortably took the 200 metres in a time of 20.22 seconds with compatriot Rodney Martin second. — AFP
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Arsenal extend unbeaten run over Tottenham
London, September 16 Arsenal went to the top of the standings with the win because of 0-0 draws in matches involving Liverpool and Chelsea. Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina saved a penalty kick in a 0-0 draw at Portsmouth. Chelsea had a goal disallowed in its 0-0 draw with Blackburn. Emmanuel Adebayor scored twice at White Hart Lane, with Cesc Fabregas putting Arsenal ahead for the first time in the 80th minute. Tottenham took the lead in the 15th minute through Gareth Bale, with Adebayor levelling in the 65th and adding Arsenal’s third goal in the 90th. Manchester United also needed a late winner, with Nemanja Vidic heading into goal in the 83rd for the Red Devils to beat Everton 1-0. Arsenal leads with 13 points, followed by Liverpool and Manchester United with 11 and West Ham, Everton and Chelsea on 10 points after the Premier League resumed after a two-week international break. Tottenham has not beaten Arsenal in any competition since November 1999, when it won a league match 2-1 at White Hart Lane. Spurs only have one win this season from six games. Spurs took the lead when Bale curled a 25-metre free kick around the wall and past Arsenal goalkeeper Manuel Almunia. Arsenal went on the attack, with Abou Diaby hitting the crossbar and Tottenham goalkeeper Paul Robinson making two saves from Adebayor in the first half. Fabregas levelled the scores with a long-range bending strike into the top corner before Adebayor made it 3-1 with a volley. Andriy Shevchenko started for Chelsea with his first appearance this season, replacing the injured Didier Drogba, but he missed two chances in the first half. Blackburn goalkeeper Brad Friedel made an acrobatic save in the 27th to deny Michael Essien from scoring with a rising half-volley. Chelsea had the ball in the net early in the second half through Salomon Kalou but it was ruled offside. Blackburn midfielder Robbie Savage forced Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech into a one-handed save in the 76th minute. Friedel also stopped a header from Shevchenko in the 84th minute, but the Ukraine striker’s boot hit the head of defender Christopher Samba, who was taken off the field on a stretcher. West Ham beat Middlesbrough for its first home win of the season with goals from Lee Bowyer, Dean Ashton and an own-goal from Luke Young. Wigan drew 1-1 with Fulham after a penalty kick from Jason Koumas in the 80th minute. That cancelled out an 11th-minute goal from Fulham midfielder Clint Dempsey. — AP
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J&K gearing up for Santosh Trophy
Srinagar, September 16 An additional demand for an amount of Rs 1.33 crore is under consideration for upgradation of Bakshi Stadium and Polo ground in Srinagar and M A Stadium and GGM Science College ground in Jammu, the likely venues for the Santosh trophy, sources said. Jammu and Kashmir Sports Council has utilised an amount of Rs 1 crore during the last financial year for upgradation of Bakshi Stadium and Polo ground playing field in Srinagar and M A stadium and GGM science College in Jammu, the sources said. The sources said 62nd National football championship for Santosh Trophy will be held in the state in April and May 2008 by the All India Football federation. The exact date is awaited from the All India Football Federation, the sources said. — PTI
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ICL gets Devi Lal stadium
Panchkula, September 16 According to the terms and conditions for approval, the ICL has been given the cricket ground at the stadium on a lease of 10 years. The ground has been made available to the League for a period of 50 days in a year at a monthly rent of Rs 6.75 lakh. Sources added that since night matches would be held at the venue, the cost of installing flood lights would also be borne by the League. The ICL had initially requested that HUDA install the flood lights costing over Rs 4 crore and charge them rent at 10 per cent of the investment needed for the lights. Under the agreement finalised by HUDA, in addition to the rent, the League will pay 15 per cent of its earnings made by way of ticket sales, food and beverages and the advertisement boards installed on the field boundary. Also, the ICL will be required to maintain the field for as long as the matches are on while HUDA will maintain the field during the off season. The Chief Administrator, HUDA, TC Gupta, confirmed that the request of the ICL had been accepted and an agreement with the officials of the League would be signed shortly. The stadium has a capacity of 20,000 and a cricket field spread over 15 acres. While the request for the Panchkula ground has been met, the request for Gurgaon is still pending. Staking claim and competing against the ICL for the same ground is Congress MLA and former BCCI president Ranbir Mohindra who has also expressed his desire to take it on lease. No decision has been taken on the two requests so far.
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Fed Cup
Moscow, September 16 Kuznetsova’s victory gave the home team an unassailable 3-0 lead over last year’s surprise winners Italy in the final at Moscow’s Luzhniki arena. Heavy favourites Russia had enjoyed a commanding 2-0 lead after day one when US Open finalist Kuznetsova and world number five Anna Chakvetadze both won their singles. Kuznetsova crushed Italy number two Mara Santangelo 6-1, 6-2 on Saturday, but looked frustrated for much of her match with the combative Schiavone. The Russian had to save two match points in the second set tiebreaker to force the third set, where she broke in the ninth game with the help of two net-cords to lead 5-4. Schiavone, the heroine of Italy’s 3-2 semi-final victory over France in July when she won all three of her matches, was not to be denied, however, as she battled back to level at 5-5. Kuznetsova had the last word, though, gaining another break in the next game, then coming back from 0-30 to win the last four points in the match and secure victory after two hours and 45 minutes. — Reuters
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Sania’s injury keeps organisers tense
Kolkata, September 16 The week-long tier III event, into its third year now, stands a class apart from the earlier two editions going by the entry list. The tourneys in 2005 and 2006 had as top seeds players who were a clear title favourite. In the inaugural year, it was the Russian girl Anastasia Myskina, while last year it was Swiss Miss Martina Hingis. They practically steamrolled all opposition on way to pocketing the crown. In contrast, there are no clear favourites this time around, with top seed Marion Bartoli of France and second seeded Slovak girl Daniela Hantuchova breathing down each others neck in WTA rankings. While Wimbledon runners up Bartoli is slotted 10th, Hantuchova occupies the 12th position.
— PTI
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Mexico, September 16 Anand inched himself up to 2 points from two games and continued to lead the tables along with Kramnik. The day witnessed Russian Alexander Morozevich warding off his previous round loss as he scalped another Russian - Peter Svidler - in a keenly contested game. The other games of the third round were drawn as Alexander Grischuk from Russia signed peace with Levon Aronian of Armenia while Hungarian Peter Leko reached the same result against Boris Gelfand of Israel. With 11 rounds still to come in this 8-players double round robin event where each player meets the others twice, Morozevich, Gelfand, Grischuk and Leko share the third spot on 1.5 points each while Aronian and Svidler are now at the bottom of the tables with one point apiece. For the second time in three days, Anand faced the Petroff defence. Earlier in the first round, Gelfand had played the same opening against the Indian ace and had got an easy half point. In the post game conference, Kramnik said that he was 'well prepared' for this key match and indeed, as it happened, black had some practical chances. — PTI
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World Rally champ feared dead in copter crash
London, September 16 McRae, Britain’s best-known rally driver, was believed to be on board the helicopter, which was owned by him and crashed yesterday in a wooded area. McRae’s agent Jean-Eric Freudiger was quoted as saying the 39-year-old driver had been piloting the helicopter, in reports in The Sunday Times and the Sunday Telegraph. The reports also said his five-year-old son Johnny was also on board. Calls to Freudiger’s Geneva office were not immediately answered. Official confirmation was expected later today. The police said that four people were on board the helicopter, all of whom were feared dead. The aircraft was badly burned, making it impossible for police to immediately identify the occupants. McRae is a licensed pilot who often flies in the area, the police said. It was not immediately known from where the helicopter had taken off or where it was headed. — AP
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London, September 16 Rallying was in the blood for McRae, who was born in Lanark in southern Scotland on August 5, 1968. His father Jimmy was a five-time British rally champion. His brother Alister is also a former British rally champion. Colin McRae competed in his first rally on the World Rally Championship circuit in Sweden in 1987 and earned his first win in New Zealand in 1993. He landed the championship behind the wheel of a Subaru Impreza 555, fending off Spanish driving ace and teammate Carlos Sainz on home soil in the final leg of the season in 1995. The pair went into the decider level on 70 points with McRae’s local knowledge proving vital as he came in 26 seconds ahead of runner-up Sainz to claim the title. The following year, in recognition of becoming the first British winner of the World Rally Championship, he was made a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, being given his MBE gong by Queen Elizabeth II. He finished as championship runner-up in 1996 and 1997 with Subaru, and again in 2001 in a Ford Focus. — AFP
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New York, September 16 The race, organised on Saturday as part of the US Air Force’s 60th anniversary celebrations, included plenty of festivities. All finishers of the marathon were presented with Collector Medallion featuring the C-5 Galaxy aircraft. As he finished the race, beating men less than half his age, the public address system announced his records - highest number of marathons by a South Asian of any age; highest number of marathons by an Asian above 50; highest number of marathons (49) in 20 foreign countries by an Indian; record holder for above 55 in 1987; the oldest active international sportsman of India at the age of 75 years. Roy started running marathons after the age of 50. Osteo-arthritis in the right knee for the past two years has not diminished his enthusiasm for this most-strenuous race. The route had many hills, including nearly mile-long steep climbs at the start and finish, making it a tough race. Running in moderate weather with temperatures ranging between 10 and 25 degrees Celsius, Roy was cheered all along the route by volunteers, policemen and spectators, and many car drivers honking horns to greet him. — IANS
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