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Rain washes out Clarke’s heroics
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Acknowledge others’ feats also: Tirkey
Advani refuses Ekalavya award
Pollock surprised at exclusion
Anand a draw away from crown
Record Cup defeat for Woods
Japan GP
Bhupinder, Kanwar clinch gold
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Rain washes out Clarke’s heroics
Bangalore, September 29 Batting first, Australia slumped to 90 for four wickets before Michael Clarke (130) and Brad Haddin (69) forged a 144-run stand to power the side to an imposing 307 for seven. In reply, India lost Sachin Tendulkar (0) in the second over and were nine for one in 2.4 overs when heavy shower dropped curtains on the proceedings. Both the sides now move to Kochi for the second match on Tuesday. Set an uphill task of getting 308 for a win, disaster struck India as early as in the second over when Mitchell Johnson swung one that rapped Tendulkar on his pads and umpire Suresh Shastri upheld the appeal. Australia had started their defence of the total with a maiden over from Brett Lee that put Gautam Gambhir firmly in straitjacket.
His pace colleague Johnson sized up Tendulkar in his first over and kept him silent for the first five balls before sending down the sixth for a wide, with which India opened their account. And the pacer more than made up with the next delivery which trapped Tendulkar sending groans across the stadium. Gambhir hit Lee for a four and the innings was into its third over when heavy shower sent the players and match officials scurrying for covers. Earlier, Clarke thrived in his happy hunting ground at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, where he had scored a Test century on his debut in 2004, and struck a blistering 130 off 132 balls as Australia overcame early jitters to post a mammoth 307. Clarke notched up his third ODI century before being run out in the final delivery. His well-paced innings was studded with 10 fours and three sixes. He found an able partner in Brad Haddin whose 69 came off 83 balls that included seven fours and a six. Sreesanth had visitors reeling
S Sreesanth was pick of the Indian bowlers, claiming 3 for 55. Thanks to Sreesanth's three-wicket burst, India had the visitors on the mat, with Australia reeling at 90 for four, but Clarke first stitched together a 60-run stand with Matthew Hayden (34) and then added 144 runs in 25.2 overs with Brad Haddins (69) to prop up the innings. Down the order, James Hopes threw his bat at everything to garner 37 runs off 25 balls to swell the tally. Adam Gilchrist won the toss and it was probably India's poor record while chasing that prompted him to bat first. Gilchrist, however, could not vindicate his decision and fell to a stunning catch pouched by Yuvraj Singh at point for 12. Zaheer Khan pitched the first ball of his second delivery full and outside the off-stump as Gilchrist went for a wild swish. Yuvraj, however, dived to right, his wrong side, to pull off a beauty and it was all over for hard-hitting batsman. Sreesanth too struck in his second over. The speedster looked erratic as he began the over with two wides in a row before trapping Brad Hodge with a peach of a delivery that pitched outside off and jagged in to beat Hodge's prodding bat and hit him plumb in front. At 18 for two, Australia were in for some early trouble. Clarke and Hayden looked cagey before the opener opened up. The towering Hayden hit RP Singh for two fours in the 10th over and again in RP's next over, the left-hander drove the bowler for a four and swivelled one for the maximum in the next delivery.
— PTI Scoreboard Australia Gilchrist c Yuvraj b Zaheer 12 Hayden b Sreesanth 34 Hodge lbw b Sreesanth 0 Clarke run out 130 Symonds lbw b Sreesanth 7 Haddin st Dhoni b Yuvraj 69 Hopes c Tendulkar b Zaheer 37 Lee not out 0 Extras: (b-4, lb-1, nb-2, wd-11) 18 Total: (for 7 wickets in 50 overs) 307 Fall of
wickets: 1-14, 2-18, 3-78, 4-90, 5-234, 6-307, 7-307. Bowling: Zaheer Khan 10-0-64-2, S Sreesanth 10-0-55-3, RP Singh 10-0-67-0, Irfan Pathan 8-0-38-0, Ramesh Powar 6-1-50-0 Yuvraj Singh 6-0-28-1. India Gambhir not out 4 Tendulkar lbw b Johnson 0 Pathan not out 0 Extras: (b-4, w-1) 5 Total: (one wicket, 2.4 overs) 9 Bowling: Lee 1.4-1-4-0, Johnson 1-0-1-1. 
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Acknowledge others’ feats also: Tirkey
New Delhi, September 29 Tirkey said the team had worked hard and played outstanding hockey to bring the honour and they deserved acknowledgement from people as well as associations. "Every player played well in the Asia Cup. We played attacking hockey for which we are known. The team played like a unit. Thrashing a strong team like South Korea in the final is no mean feat. The state governments should at least recognise what we have achieved," Tirkey told mediapersons on the occasion of a book release function here today. "The performance of our cricket team in the Twenty20 World Cup was very good. But at the same time, we should not forget the good results produced by other sportspersons," the veteran defender said. Welcoming the recent sops announced by various state governments and corporate houses for the Asia Cup winning side, Tirkey hoped that more such incentives would come for the players. On the Olympic qualifiers, Indian hockey team's next big target, Tirkey said the side has to pull up its socks in several areas to improve their performance.
— PTI
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Bangalore, September 29 World billiards champion Pankaj Advani today declined to accept the Ekalavya award for 2004 and did not turn up for the function. The ace billiards champion had expressed his displeasure for not being given due recognition by the state government. When contacted, Advani’s family confirmed that he had not attended the function.Meanwhile, 82 sportspersons, including cricketers Sunil Joshi and Dodda Ganesh, hockey player Sandeep Michael and physcially challenged tennis player Bonniface Prabhu were conferred the Ekalavya Award for 2002-06 by Governor Rameshwar Thakur at the function. The awardees included 10 women, five physically challenged persons and 14 police personnel. — PTI
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Venus, Kirilenko in Korea final
Seoul, September 29 Williams will face Maria Kirilenko in tomorrow's final. The Russian dispatched Eleni Daniilidou of Greece 7-5, 6-0 in the day's other semi-final. Williams took the first set in 36 minutes, but her Italian opponent, the only unseeded player in the semi-finals, put some early pressure on the top seed. Pennetta broke the American's serve at the start and had a chance to go up 2-0 up, leading 40-15 in the second game. But Williams came back with four straight points to break the Italian's serve. Williams conceded the opening game of the second set, but promptly broke Pennetta's serve. Venus, serving as fast as 201 km per hour, went on to take six of the last seven games to secure her berth in the final. In the day's second semi-final, Kirilenko had a see-saw first set against defending champion Daniilidou, winning the first three games and then losing the next three before prevailing 7-5. The Russian made quick work of the Greek in the second set, winning it 6-0. — AFP
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Gasquet, Rochus in Mumbai Open final
Mumbai, September 29 Earlier, Olivier Rochus of Belgium beat Rainer Schuettler of Germany 6-4, 6-4 in the first semifinal.— Reuters
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Pollock surprised at exclusion
Lahore, September 29 Pollock was dropped as South Africa team management feel he may not be as effective on pitches in the sub-continent as he once was and are keen to try out younger, quicker bowlers like as Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn. The 34-year-old veteran of many a battles expressed both surprise and disappointment at his exclusion, the first time in his 107-Test career dropped for any reason other than injury. ''Obviously Mickey had a discussion with me. He told me I am not playing in the first Test as we are going with different options. ''I am surprised to have been eliminated already. When I was chosen for the squad, I thought I had a good chance to play,'' Pollock, who had taken 416 Test wickets, said. He revealed that Arthur had spoken to him a few months ago about the shape of his future role on subcontinent tours. ''Mickey feels I have a role to play, especially in South Africa where pitches are more conducive.
— UNI
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A champion unearthed
Chandigarh, September 29 The first came when the team was down in the dumps, fetching him Man of the Match award, while the third, no less valuable, came in the final against arch rivals Pakistan in the final, paving the way for the historic title triumph for the country. Ever since he held a willow for the country, Mumbai’s Rohit Sharma has proved that he belongs to the international arena. He did not take long to find his moorings. In the nerve-wracking contest against South Africa at Durban he proved what he is capable of. Frayed nerves settled, Rohit was soon striking the ball from the middle of the bat. The youngster looked adept in shifting gears. In the company of Captain Cool MS Dhoni and facing the likes of Ntini, Pollock, Mornie Morkel and Van Der Wath, who were letting the ball fly past the batsmen at a considerable pace on a helpful track, he showed great maturity and composure extricating his side out of the hole. A lesser batsman would have wilted due to sheer enormity of the occasion, but not Rohit. Relegation to the bench for so long in the England series did not matter to him. Rather, as he said later, it was a learning experience. Suddenly thrown in the most demanding contest that a Twenty20 match against a tough opponent can be, Rohit showcased his potential and India had discovered a champion. Injury to leg spinner Piyush Chawla meant that in-form Rohit was in the Indian squad for the second and the third ODI against world champions. Even if he doesn’t gets a look-in soon in view of the imposing presence of the Big Three - Sachin, Dravid and Ganguly, the 20-year-old is sure to learn a lot in the company of more experienced mates and by seeing the inimitable Aussies play. With Sachin Tendulkar recently declaring that it was becoming difficult for him to recover well in time after playing back-to-back matches at a time when calendar was so cramped could well provide a window of opportunity to the talented youngster sooner than expected. Right from the early time he started playing from Mumbai, the youngster has been deemed as someone with immense potential. The previous domestic season saw Rohit score a couple of big knocks. Playing for India A, Rohit furthered his reputation as a batsman with an exquisite range of strokes. In the first edition of the national Twenty20 championship organised by the BCCI this year, Rohit emerged the lone centurion, sending Gujarat bowlers on a leather hunt during his 49-ball 101 at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai. What is gratifying about Rohit is that he has a wide range of strokes and is quite nimble-footed on the field. His run out of in-form Justin Kemp in the crucial match against South Africa was the type of blow which probably sets panic in the rival camp. His being an occasional off-spinner could also be handy for the team. After India’s stupendous show in South Africa, which was made possible by the sheer enthusiasm and exuberance of youngsters, clamour for their induction in the Indian squad is bound to get sharper. With a hectic calendar awaiting the Indian team, the selectors are bound to follow the policy of rotation resulting in chances for the youngsters like Rohit. Onus will be on them to keep up the momentum.
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Mexico City, September 29 Anand, survived a scare and saved a losing battle to escape with a draw after 72 moves against the Russian Grandmaster. The Indian Grandmaster is still a full point advantage over second placed Boris Gelfand and required only a draw against Peter Leko in the final round to walk away with the title and $ 360,000 dollar (Rs. 1.5 crore approx) prize money. Playing with black pieces, Anand was fast and furious, taking just 40 minutes to make 33 moves while Grischuk analysed each move and took more than an hour and 50 minutes to complete the same. Anand used his favourite weapon Leningrad variation with 5... h6, and played the same line as he used against Aronian in Round Two which he won. However, Grischuk went all out to trouble Anand with his tactical moves and created some advantage in his favour in the middle game. Grischuk, though, could not capitalise on the advantage despite Anand commiting a blunder after the 40th move. The Indian had to work hard to undo the mistake and succeeded. Anand's black rook on the b-file with king protecting kingside pawns kept Grischuk surely on his heels. Alter a long 72 moves with only two Kings remaining on the board, both the players decided to agree for a draw. The Indian maestro gave a fantastic resistance to save the game. ''Actually after move 40 when I blundered, I manage to calm down, and realised that I have not spoiled anything, probably it was the most important moment just to realise that nothing has happened. It is funny that you blunder and infact it has no real consequences,'' Anand told UNI after his drawn game. Round 13 results: Alexander Grischuk (5.5) drew with Viswanathan Anand (8.5) Levon Aronian (6) drew with Peter Svidler (5.5) Boris Gelfand (7.5) drew with Vladimir Kramnik (7) Peter Leko (6.5) beat Alexander Morozevich (5.5) Final Round Pairings: Viswanathan Anand vs Peter Leko Peter Svidler vs Alexander Grischuk Alexander Morozevich vs Boris Gelfand Vladimir Kramnik vs Levon Aronian. — UNI
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Record Cup defeat for Woods
Montreal, September 29 Although the heavyweight American duo gathered eight birdies between them in the best-ball format, they were outclassed by opponents who were a staggering 11 under par after 14 holes yesterday. ''Obviously we needed to make more birdies in our match,'' world number one Woods told reporters. ''We both played pretty good, I wouldn't say great, but we were playing solidly. ''We just didn't get enough looks at birdies on the same hole. It seemed like one of us was in on each hole and was making putts but we needed to have both of us in there on the same hole and we just didn't do that.'' Woods, comfortably the best player of his generation and arguably the greatest of all time, has generally struggled in fourball matches at the Presidents Cup and the Ryder Cup. His overall win-loss record in that format in the biennial team competitions is 6-13. In the Presidents Cup it stands at an unimpressive 2-7. Fijian Singh set the tone for the day when he holed out from a greenside bunker to birdie the par-four first at Royal Montreal Golf Club. The former world number one then pitched in from the fairway to eagle the par-five sixth for the Internationals pairing to grab early control. Appleby hit his tee shot to eight feet at the par-three seventh and holed the birdie putt to put the Internationals three up. Although Furyk briefly trimmed the deficit by rolling in a 19-footer to birdie the eighth, Singh countered with a birdie putt from similar range at the 10th. Appleby coaxed in a 32-foot eagle putt at the par-five 12th before Singh put the Internationals five up with five to play by draining a 14-footer to birdie the 13th. ''They chipped in twice and were 11 under par through 14 holes, that's pretty good playing,'' said Woods.
— Reuters
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Japan GP Fuji, Japan, September 29Lewis Hamilton snatched pole position from McLaren team mate and bitter rival Fernando Alonso with a last gasp flying lap at the end of a wet and foggy Japanese Grand Prix qualifying session today. The championship-leading rookie, who has accused Alonso of disloyalty and unsporting behaviour, pummelled the air in jubilation with his fists after shoving the Spaniard into second place. Double world champion Alonso, two points behind Hamilton with three races left, was on top at the chequered flag but Hamilton pulled out all the stops on his final run to beat him by 0.070 seconds. The pole position, at a track he only saw for the first time on Thursday, was the 22-year-old Briton's fifth in 15 Formula One races. Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen, the third man in a thrilling title battle and 13 points adrift of Hamilton, qualified third with Brazilian team mate Felipe Massa fourth. Ferrari have already secured the constructors' championship after McLaren were fined a record $ 100 million and stripped of all their 2007 points for having Ferrari technical information in their possession. ''I'm in a perfect position although obviously I've got these two (Alonso and Raikkonen) breathing down my neck,'' said Hamilton. ''But I'm not really too bothered. ''Tomorrow's going to be a tough battle. We are obviously all extremely close in time, but the key is going to be getting down to the first corner.'' The two McLarens clashed at the first corner in Belgium two weeks ago, with Alonso forcing Hamilton off the track as the Briton tried to go past. Hamilton, fourth in that race, has said repeatedly since then that he will be more aggressive next time. ''We're going to race and we'll see. As Fernando said, we're not idiots,'' he said today. — Reuters
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Bhupinder, Kanwar clinch gold
Mohali, September 29 Khushbaz Jatana of Ludhiana bagged the bronze medal in the event. In the trap (ISSF) event, Kanwar Dhillon from Barnala clinched the gold medal and in trap (ISSF junior), Puninder Pal Singh won the top honours. Tomorrow, the shooters will vie for the skeet event to win the championship.— TNS
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