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Another washout on cards
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Controversy over award to Dhoni
Cricketers okay, but sorry for hockey
players: Bhutia
IPL signs Mahela, Murali, 6 others
Shoaib faces 6-month ban
Triumphant return by Kallis
Sania storms into pre-quarters
DSCL Open
Vinoo Mankad u-19 tournament
Golfer gets a raw deal
TT tourney
Badminton tournament
200 students
criss-cross country Table
tennis tourney begins
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Kochi, October 1 It has been raining for the last few days and a heavy shower this morning forced the two teams to abandon their plans for a net practice at the ground which has been left completely soggy. With the met office predicting more rains tomorrow, chances of any play being possible tomorrow appear to be very bleak, giving sleepless nights to the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) which is toiling hard to keep the Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium in good condition for the match. However, all their efforts may go in vain with the curator P V Ramachandran making it clear that even a couple of hours of downpour on the match day would be enough to force an abandonment. However, if rain relents, spectators can expect fireworks at the ground, which has traditionally been lucky for India. The hosts have a 4-1 win-loss record at the stadium and the only disappointment that the Indians have suffered here is the loss to minnows Zimbabwe in 2000. Sourav Ganguly is out with a hamstring strain and spinner Harbhajan Singh is also battling a stiff neck. Robin Uthappa is also a doubtful starter because of injury. The home side also has some serious thinking to do on their bowling attack, which let the Aussies off the hook after having them in trouble in the initial stage of the opener. The visitors were choking at 90 for four before Michael Clarke (130) turned the match in Australia's favour with his maiden ODI hundred against India. The Indian bowlers, especially the spinners, were totally ineffective in the last 15 overs, and Clarke and Brad Haddin (69) dispatched them all over the park with some sublime hits. Ramesh Powar was ordinary in his last few overs though he started off quite well. The pacers, though brilliant in their opening spells, came in for some spanking later on as the Australians scored more than 150 runs in the last 15 overs to take the team score to a massive 307. S Sreesanth sprayed the ball all over the wicket and, in fact, bowled an extra over with his wides. Although he scalped three wickets but the flamboyant pacer will have to show some control to be more effective. On the batting front, a lot was expected of Sachin Tendulkar after his fine performance during the England tour but the Mumbai batsman was a disappointment, scoring a naught before the rain poured in. The Aussies, on the other hand, seem to be back in their groove after the Twenty20 World Cup debacle. Apart from having Clarke and Haddin in form, the visitors are also likely to be boosted by skipper Ricky Ponting's return to the fold after he sat out of the first match with a hamstring strain. — PTI
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Controversy over award to Dhoni
Ranchi, October 1 When India won the Twenty20 World Championships in South Africa under Dhoni, the Madhu Koda government had decided to honour Dhoni with the award Nov 15, the state's seventh foundation day. "How can the government announce an award to honour Dhoni when it has not been approved by the state cabinet," demanded former chief minister and BJP leader Arjun Munda. Chief Minister Madhu Koda is, however, firm on his decision to bestow the honour on the wicketkeeper-batsman. "Certainly Dhoni will be honoured with the Jharkhand Ratna award and we will also present him with a surprise gift," disclosed Koda, without giving any hint about what the surprise is likely to be. Legal experts here doubt if the state government can honour Dhoni with the Jharkhand Ratna award. "Till now, no such award figures in the state government's honours list. The government will have to first get the award approved by the cabinet, which will decide what can be given with the award," said P.C. Tripathy, a local lawyer. He said for such prestigious awards, a committee is generally constituted to look into the merit of the sportspersons. The state government had earlier gifted Dhoni a 5,000 sq feet plot of land in Ranchi, the price of which is estimated at Rs.4 million. Dhoni is now building a house on the plot. The government's decision to honour Dhoni with the Jharkhand Ratna award has also irked hockey players in the state. Jharkhand has produced several national and international hockey players. Ranchi resident Jaipal Singh was the captain of the 1928 Indian hockey team that won the first-ever Olympic gold medal at the Amsterdam Games. But to the shock of his admirers, the state government has recently decided to convert the Jaipal Singh Stadium into a shopping mall. "We welcome the move to honour Dhoni, but successive governments have neglected hockey players despite the fact that Jharkhand has produced more than 20 national and international hockey players," Sumit Sen, a hockey buff, said. — IANS
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Cricketers okay, but sorry for hockey
players: Bhutia
Dubai, October 1 ''If the Indian cricket board wants to honour the cricketers or the corporate houses want to derive mileage by announcing the incentives, how can you stop them?,'' said Bhutia who is here on a week-long training prior to India's 2010 World Cup first round qualifier against Lebanon. ''There is no point in grudging the popularity of cricket, as it takes the cream of media coverage back in India. No wonder, there will be more takers for the game, though I do feel a little sorry for hockey,'' he told the Gulf News. The Indian team is undergoing training here before embarking to Beirut where India will play Lebanon on October 8. The 30-year-old stressed, ''The government should have shown more initiative to reward the hockey players for winning the Asia Cup, where they beat a team like South Korea in the final.''
— UNI
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IPL signs Mahela, Murali, 6 others
New Delhi, October 1 Barely three days after the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL) released its second list of 18 players, the IPL responded by coming out with the names of its first high-profile signings, intensifying the recruitment battle between the two rival groups. Apart from Jayawardane and Muralitharan, the dashing Sanath Jayasuriya, wicketkeeper batsman Kumar Sangakkara and pacemen Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Zoysa, Farveez Maharoof and Dilhara Fernando were the other players to play in the inaugural season. The IPL had already roped in the likes of spin great Shane Warne, former New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming and Aussie speedster Glen McGrath for the Twenty20 tournament, seen as a counter to the Subhash-Chandra owned Essel Group's breakaway League. Lalit Modi, Chairman and Commissioner of IPL said "We at the IPL are committed to enticing an entire new generation of sports fans into the grounds by showcasing some of the best cricketing talent on offer from the world over. "It is in line with this philosophy that we have signed eight of the current Sri Lankan squad. We are also in talks with some of the finest players in the International cricketing arena. I promise Indian fans that the IPL will truly be one of the finest cricketing leagues anywhere in the world," he said. The BCCI had recently launched the IPL to be played in the globally popular Twenty20 format, offering a whopping $ 3 million as prize money. The Champions League, which will feature the two tops teams from the four participating countries, has a prize money of $ 5 million. In stark contrast, the ICL has a winner's purse of $ one million with West Indies batting great Brian Lara and former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul Haq being the star recruits. "T20 cricket is an exciting new format for both cricket players and fans. We are all thrilled to be joining the IPL, an innovative venture that has the potential to fuel crickets growth around the world during the coming years. We are looking forward to making our mark in the league," Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene was quoted as saying in a press release. The IPL, scheduled for an April 2008 launch, will feature eight franchises in the first season, with each team playing seven home and away games against one another. It would be a 56-game regular season to determine the four finalists, who would then face off in the semi-finals. A grand final would be played toward the end of April next culminating in a clash of the two best club sides in India. The IPL hopes to grow the eight franchises to 16 by 2010. All of the IPL matches will be played under lights at BCCI designated stadia across the country. Each franchise would have a playing squad of 16 players comprising BCCI registered players drawn from a central contract pool of Indian players. Each IPL team will also feature both under 21 players and designated players per team. The designated players could well be contracted from the Indian national team or overseas contracted players, marking the entry of these professionals into Indian domestic cricket for the first time. — PTI
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Shoaib faces 6-month ban
Karachi, October 1 A PCB official said the five charges also include violating a probation period of six weeks, going to England to play a charity match without board's permission, making accusations against teammate Shahid Afridi and addressing an unauthorised press conference after being sent home from South Africa. "Shoaib has to respond to these charges when he appears before the disciplinary committee on Oct 6," the official said. He said a fine of Rs 300,000 was now automatic for violating the probation period of six weeks while he could be banned for up to six months if he did not come up with a satisfactory reply. After being sent back from South Africa before the Twenty20 World Cup, Shoaib held a press conference and accused Afridi of instigating the brawl with Asif. He also claimed that he accidentally hit Asif with the bat. The disciplinary committee will also question Malik, Afridi, Asif along with some other players about the incident in South Africa.— PTI
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Karachi, October 1 Kallis (118 not out) and Hashim Amla (71) put on 170 for the third wicket to justify captain Graeme Smith's decision to bat first on a slow pitch. Ashwell Prince was also unbeaten at the close, on three. It was a triumphant return to the team for Kallis, who stepped down as vice-captain in August after being dropped from the Twenty20 World Cup squad. Seam bowler Mohammad Asif broke the third-wicket stand with the fifth delivery of the second new ball, a leg cutter clipping Amla's off stump to end a dogged innings that contained six fours and one six. Amla made only 22 runs in 67 balls after tea in contrast to Kallis who took 59 deliveries to sprint from 46 to reach his first century in 10 Tests. ''I am very disappointed because I had done all the hard work,'' Amla told reporters. ''It was a good track to bat on today but it will deteriorate later on as the ball is turning and already keeping low.'' SOLID START South Africa had been given a solid start of 87 by Smith (42) and Herschelle Gibbs (54) who took his total of test runs to 5,997. Smith was trapped leg before by Mohammad Hafeez before lunch while Gibbs was caught at gully by Hafeez slashing at paceman Umar Gul. — Reuters Scoreboard
South Africa (1st Innings): Gibbs c Hafeez b Gul 54 Smith lbw b Hafeez 42 Amla b Asif 71 Kallis batting 118 Prince batting 3 Extras: (b-1, lb-2, nb-3): 6 Total: (For 3 wkts, 90 overs): 294 Fall of
wickets: 1-87, 2-109, 3-279. Bowling: Mohammad Asif 18-5-51-1, Umar Gul 17-5-53-1, Danish Kaneria 23-2-76-0, Abdul Rehman 10-1-40-0, Shoaib Malik 8-2-31-0, Mohammad Hafeez 14-0-40-1. — AFP
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Maharoof wrecks England
Dambulla, October 1 Maharoof ripped through the top order after a positive start by England's batsmen, claiming the key wickets of Phil Mustard (27), Ian Bell (nought), Kevin Pietersen (one) and Alastair Cook (46), finishing with 4 for 31 from 10 overs. Sri Lanka's victory platform was set-up earlier in the afternoon as skipper Mahela Jayawardene top scored with 66 to guide his team to a competitive 269-7 on a sluggish pitch. Jayawardene was well-supported by this fellow top order batsmen with Sanath Jayasuriya (41), Upul Tharanga (40), Kumar Sangakkara (38) and Chamara Silva (33) all chipping in. Maharoof, who played ahead of a specialist spinner, also starred briefly with the bat, clubbing three boundaries in his 22 from 12 balls near the end. England captain Paul Collingwood was the tourists' most effective bowler, claiming two for 44 from his 10 overs. Graeme Swann, a surprise choice ahead of frontline left-arm spinner Monty
Panesar, returned one for 47 from his 10 overs.
— Reuters Scoreboard Sri Lanka: Tharanga c Collingwood b Broad 40 Jayasuriya c Bopara b Sidebottom 41 Sangakkara st Mustard b Swann 38 Jayawardene c Shah b Collingwood 66 Silva c Cook b Collingwood 33 Dilshan not out 11 Mubarak c Anderson b Broad 1 Maharoof c Anderson b Sidebotom 22 Vaas not out 1 Extras (b-3, lb-5, w-8) 16 Total (7 wickets; 50 overs) 269 Fall of wickets: 1-71, 2-95, 3-166, 4-225, 5-237, 6-240, 7-264 Bowling: Anderson 8-0-47-0 (3w), Sidebottom 10-0-56-2 (2w), Broad 10-0-54-2 (2w), Collingwood 10-0-44-2 (1w), Swann 10-0-47-1, Shah 2-0-13-0 England: Cook c Sangakkara b Maharoof 46 Mustard c Malinga b Maharoof 27 Bell c Sangakkara b Maharoof 0 Pietersen c Sangakkara b Mahroof 1 Collingwood c Jayawardene b Fernando 9 Shah c Mubarak b Malinga 7 Bopara not out 27 Swann c Malinga b Dilshan 24 Broad run out 1 Sidebottom st Sangakkara b Dilshan 2 Anderson c Jayawardene b Jayasuriya 0 Extras: (w-6) 6 Total (all out; 34.5 overs) 150 Fall of wickets: 1-43, 2-58, 3-60, 4-73, 5-91, 6-102, 7-144, 8-145, 9-149 Bowling: Vaas 5-0-32-0 (1w), Malinga 6-0-32-1 (3w), Fernando 7-0-23-1 (1w), Maharoof 10-2-31-4, Dilshan 4-0-20-2 (1w), Jay suriya 2.5-0-12-1 Result: Sri Lanka win by 119 runs Man of the match: Farveez Mahroof (Sri Lanka) Series: Sri Lanka lead 1-0
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YPS, Mayo College in title clash
Mohali, October 1 In semifinals, YPS registered a comprehensive 18-run victory over Pinegrove School, Dharampur. Batting first, YPS put on 104 runs in allotted 20 overs despite losing quick four wickets at the total of just 6 runs on the board. A valuable partnership between Meghna and Puneet helped the team to reach respectable total. In the second semifinal, Mayo College Girls, Ajmer, thrashed Ashoka Hall Girls Residential School, Almora, by the margin of 124 runs to reach the finals. Chasing the target, Ashoka team were bundled out for 35 runs in 11 overs. Mehak, of Mayo College was a wrecker-in-chief as she took 5 wickets conceding five runs.
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Sania storms into pre-quarters
Tokyo, October 1 The second seeded Indian, who was out of action for nearly a month due to a wrist injury, will now face Australian Cassey Dellacqua in the next round of the $1,75,000 tier III event. Sania will partner American Christina Fusano in doubles. Sania drops one rung New Delhi: Sania Mirza’s absence from the tennis court for three weeks has affected her rankings as she dropped one rung to 29th in the latest WTA chart issued today.
— Agencies
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DSCL Open
New Delhi, October 1 The young Prasanth covered the court well and hit some stunning winners to give the top seed a fright before Madkekar’s experience helped him triumph. Third-seeded Vishnu Vardhan of Andhra Pradesh scored a regulation 6-3, 6-4 victory against Shivang Mishra of Delhi, while former champion and fifth seed Vijay Kannan of Tamil Nadu pipped Yogesh Phogat of Haryana 6-1, 6-4. The Haryana boy, who made it into the main draw as a lucky loser, came back roaring in the second set after a tame surrender in the first, but Kannan was too experienced to give him much leeway, and won as expected. In the boys under-18 singles second round, Vijayant Malik of Chandigarh scored his second victory, when he outplayed Manpreet Chawla of Delhi 6-0, 6-1. It was a nice compensation for Vijayant, who had bowed out in the first round of the men’s singles yesterday. Manav Dhawan of Punjab ran into the tough-playing Lakshit Sood of Uttar Pradesh, but kept his cool to win at 6-4, 6-4 and progressed into the third round. Top-seeded Isha Lakhani of Maharashtra did not have to exert much to down Naukrit Prasad of Delhi 6-1, 6-2 in the women’s singles, while qualifier Aishwarya Srivastava of Maharashtra shocked seventh seeded Shweta Kumar Solanki of Delhi 6-2, 6-1. In other first-round women’s singles matches, third-seeded Sanaa Bhambri of Delhi defeated Shivika Burman 6-3, 6-4, qualifier Tanvi Shah beat Garima Vatwani 6-3, 6-0, Krya Shroff beat V. Archana 7-6, 6-2, Asha Nandakumar beat Rishika Sunkara 6-2, 6-1, qualifier Sheethal Goutham beat wild card Prachi Nadkarni 7-6, 6-1, fourth seed Sonal Phadke downed Treta Bhatacharya 6-1, 6-2 and eighth seed Parul Goswami beat Chirashanti Rajur 6-3, 6-0.
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Vinoo Mankad u-19 tournament
Srinagar, October 1 Electing to bat first after winning the toss, Punjab scored 242 for the lost of six wickets in the allotted 50 overs, played at the Shar-e-Kashmir Stadium. Punjab openers played brilliantly and gave their team a stand of 64 runs. Himansu Chawla scored 53, Taruwar Kholi 51 and Amitoze Singh 40 for Punjab, while Ankit Singh of HP took three wickets and Rishi Dhawan two. In reply, HP were bundled out for 183 in 47.1 overs. HP lost early two wickets when the score was 8. Jas Karan was the top scorer with 40 runs followed by Saransh Thakur 38. For Punjab Sidharth Koul and Rajendra toll two wickets each. In another match played at Kashmir University, Delhi defeated Haryana by two wickets. Haryana won the toss and elected to bat first.Haryana were all out for 188 in 48.5 overs. Partik Pawan scored the highest 42 runs for Haryana, while Yogesh Nagar, Varun Sood and Darshan Khajoria took two wickets each for the winning team. In reply, Delhi lost early two wickets when the score was just 14 runs, but they played very well and reach the target in 48.4 overs and losing 8 wickets. For Delhi, Yogesh scored 63 runs and Vartik 42, while Nitin and Mohit took three wickets each for Haryana. — UNI
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Golfer gets a raw deal
Chandigarh, October 1 This fact dawned on the Indian Golf Union, the official body controlling amateur golf in the country, after Rahul had attended the final 10-day camp which concluded at the Eagleton Golf Course in Bangalore on September 26. Rahul Bakshi, who was in Chandiarh to play in the Indian Oil Junior/Subjunior Chandigarh Open, was evasive about the whole episode. But the usual smile on his face was missing. Rahul's father, Amit Bakshi, narrated the entire sequence of events. He talked about how Rahul had emerged the leader in the eight-round qualifying trials held at the JP Greens, Noida, the DLF golf course and the Golden Greens in Gurgaon. Having bagged a berth in the Nomura Cup team, Rahul flew off to San Diego for the World Junior Championship. He was back in the country polishing his strokes on the greens. But little did he realise that his Nomura Cup dreams would be shattered on the day he would be about to board a flight for Taipei. Amit Bakshi said Rahul had an American passport but was also a registered resident of India holding the Overseas Citizen of India card. Rahul, who turns 17 on October 5, has been studying in St John's School in Chandigarh from where he did his matriculation this year. Amit Bakshi said he enquired from the organisers of the tournament. In response to his call Dilip Thomas, secretary-general of the Asia Pacific Golf Confederation, rang up Pratima Bedi, Rahul's mother, to say that the rules of the tournament require that the participant should be just a resident of the country. This fax from the organising body was sent to the IGU, saying that residency rules apply for participants. Wg Cdr S.Aparajit, secretary-general of the IGU, admitted having received the fax. But he said the bar was on the part of the Ministry. He hastened to add that future participation on residency status seemed to have been cleared. Nomura Cup is a small thing. Prakash Amrithraj, an American passport holder, plays for India in the Davis Cup. Cricketer Robin Singh has a West Indian passport. But in this entire episode, the sufferer is 16-year-old Rahul Bakshi. He can study in India. He can play in the national championship, but he can' t represent the country he is playing for.
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Badminton tournament
Dharamsala, October 1 As many as 10 DAV Schools from Shimla, Solan, Barmana, Parwanoo, Bilaspur, Tiara, Narwana and Dharamsala participated. In the seniors’ category Dayanand Public School, Shimla, was the winner while DAV Public School, Barmana, was the runners-up. In the juniors’ category Bhagirath Dass DAV Public School, Dharamsala won the first position, while the DAV Public School, Parwanoo, got the second position.
— TNS
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200 students
criss-cross country Patiala, October 1 Principal of the school Indu Sharma flagged off the race at 5 am. Teachers of the school were deputed at various spots to ensure safety of the students onthe way. Karan Sharma bagged the first position in the IX-X category while Rupinder Singh stood first in the VII-VIII category. Shubham Chamoli secured the first position in the III-VI category. Principal of the school gave away prizes to the winners. Teja Singh Kandhari School, Patiala, also organised a cross-country race from the stadium road branch to the Dakala road. About 400 students participated in the race. Shahbaaz bagged the first position among the senior boys while Amandeep Kaur got the first position among the senior girls.
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Table tennis
tourney begins mbala, October 1 Dr R.P. Vij, general secretary, SD College Society (Lahore), was the chief guest. More than 400 players from 35 schools affiliated to the CBSE are participating in the tourney. A colourful cultural programme was presented. Principal K.L. Nagpal said it was for the first time that such a major table tennis tournament was being organised in Ambala. Dr R.P. Vij released the school magazine ‘Campus Events'. The principal of SD College, Dr Desh Bandhu, was also present.
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Jacques Kallis scored his 25th Test century to guide South Africa to a commanding 294 for three after the opening day of the first test against Pakistan at the National Stadium today.
