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Ponting set to bolster Aussies Will Prasad succeed? Sreesanth (L) listens to bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad (R) during a training session. — AFP photo
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ODI team selection today
Shah engineers England win
Younis holds up SA victory charge
Kallis joins select band
AITA to revamp tennis set-up
Rahul wins badminton title
DSCL Open
Hisar win overall trophy
Mountain cycling event from today
Amandeep plays two-under
Hamilton’s win under investigation
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Ponting set to bolster Aussies
Hyderabad, October 4 The hangover of the Twenty20 World Cup triumph seemed still around in Kochi and the 84-run battering in the second ODI there was actually a clear message that Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his teammates would need to raise their game by a few notches if they are to match the ODI world champions in this 50-overs-a-side format. The Indians seemed determined to match the Australians in the sledging game in Kochi but it did not pay much dividends with the players not translating the aggression into their game. Australia have already proved that their batting line-up has enough depth and the middle order, especially the underrated Brad Haddin and the incredibly talented Michael Clarke is capable of surviving any top order collapse. And to further bolster the batting, regular captain Ricky Ponting is almost certain to return to the playing eleven, having recovered from the hamstring injury he had picked up during the Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa. Ponting attended yesterday's practice session and it would be interesting to see how he is accommodated in the line-up, which may be at the expense of Brad Hodge. However, more than Ponting's return, Dhoni would be pre-occupied with the bowling woes of his side. As it was the case in the washed-out series opener in Kochi, the Indian pacers got early breakthrough to peg the visitors on the back foot and then allowed them to get off the hook with some ordinary stuff and on both occasions, Australia overcoming early jitters to post 300-plus totals. "The pacers bowled well and gave us a good start but I think we did not bowl well during 30 to 50 overs once again and that made a lot of difference. I think we need to improve on this aspect," Dhoni rued. S Sreesanth's volatile temper has become another unwanted worry for Dhoni and he is finding it increasingly difficult to rein in the speedster's temper. Adam Gilchrist has already picked up the gauntlet and promised that his team would pay India back in their own coin, which may result into yet another ill-tempered match tomorrow. Another worry for the hosts has been their frontline spinners, Harbhajan Singh and Ramesh Powar, both of whom proved a big let down. Together, they conceded 87 runs in 15 overs without any success in Kochi. Dhoni was clearly unhappy with the show by the spin twins and said both had a "lot of room for improvement". And if the bowlers could not maintain the momentum, it was worse with the batsmen. Chasing imposing 300-plus marks, India never had the start that would have laid the foundation for a successful chase. In the rain-ruined Bangalore opener, India were nine for one in the third over when heavens opened up and the match was called off. In Kochi, it was worse. They lost opener Gautam Gambhir at 11 and eventually slumped to 87 for four and could not recover from there. Though Dhoni (58), Robin Uthappa (41) and Rahul Dravid (31) got some runs under the belt in Kochi, it was just not enough to upstage the Aussies. Meanwhile, a cloud of doubt still hovers on Sourav Ganguly, who missed the last match with a hamstring injury.
— PTI
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Melbourne, October 4 In the heated match on Tuesday, Harbhajan got out to Michael Clarke and while leaving, the offie was seen exchanging words with the Australians till umpire Steve Bucknor patted him on his shoulder, asking him to move on. Harbhajan later revealed that he was reacting to some vulgar personal comments from the Aussies. He felt the 'arrogant' Aussies were still smarting from their Twenty20 World Cup defeat to India and their outburst was just a manifestation of that frustration. "They think they are superior and can do and say whatever they like, but that is not the case," Harbhajan said. "They are very bad losers. They were beaten in the (Twenty20) World Cup and they clearly did not like that," the off-spinner was quoted as saying by 'Sydney Morning Herald.' "They are a very good cricket side, but that does not mean that they can do whatever they want to do. They say they play the game in the right spirit, but they don't in reality. There is nothing gentlemanly about the way they play," said Harbhajan, seething with anger. Harbhajan said he did not mind little war of words but stooping to personal level was a strictly no-no. "I was responding to a lot of vulgar words that were said to me. I don't have any problem with chitchat on the field, so long as it is about the game. But when it is very personal and vulgar, that is not on. They think you cannot fight back and they do not like it when you do." "I won't listen to that crap. If they want to play like that, they'll get it back from us," Harbhajan said. The second one-dayer was marked by a number of such moments and Indian pacer S Sreesanth too had an altercation with Andrew Symonds and after the match, ICC match referee Chris Broad called Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist and Mahendra Singh Dhoni and asked them to rein in their teammates. Harbhajan said the Aussies as poor losers and every other team share this sentiment. "Ask any team. They will tell you that when (Australia) get beaten, they react badly. "In this game, you win some and you lose some, but regardless of the result, there is no excuse for their kind of behaviour," he asserted. The daily also quoted Symonds lashing out at Sreesanth and saying, "When I go to another code of sport I like to see confrontation, I'll admit that, but you don't want to see ugly confrontation and you certainly don't want to see confrontation that degrades your code". He, however, gave enough indications that the Australians would continue with their all-round aggressive approach to the game to gain a psychological edge. "Because we've got them for so long, if you can get an edge over them, it starts to eat into them mentally as well I think," he said. "If we can play well here on their end, it would be good to take that confidence and that success back home," Symonds said.
— PTI
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ODI team selection today
Hyderabad, October 4 There have been talks of the selectors introducing a rotation policy and it remains to be seen whether they start doing it from this series itself. The five selectors will first watch the third one-day game before deliberating on the team composition for the four remaining matches to be played in Chandigarh (Oct 8), Vadodara (Oct 11), Nagpur (Oct 14) and Mumbai (Oct 17). The tour will end with a Twenty20 match in Mumbai on October 20. The performance of the bowlers would be under scanner and the selectors may opt to make a few changes in the bowling department, particularly after the indifferent showing in the first two matches. It would be interesting to see whether the hard-hitting Virender Sehwag finds a place in the squad. While spinner Harbhajan Singh and Irfan Pathan forced their way into the ODI squad on the basis of their performance in the Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa, Sehwag continued to remain on the sidelines.
— PTI
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‘Let hosts do all the talking’
Hyderabad, October 4 "They are the ones who have come out and made all the statements since we've been here, this new India and the new aggressive outlook, the way they are going to play. We will go and play the best aggressive cricket we can and leave all the talking to the Indians," Ponting told reporters on the eve of the third ODI. "That is not the way they generally play their cricket, so they have put on some sort of a brave face. We have played some great cricket. I am looking forward to playing some better cricket," he added. Ponting, however, sought to downplay the verbal duels which overshadowed the game in the second match, saying none of the teams crossed their limits. "It is pretty clear to me nobody stepped out of the line. I think both teams were right on the limit the other day and the referee made that pretty clear to us after the game. Both sides were right on the edge. "As long as cricket is played in the right way and everyone knows where the line in the sand is, it is okay. It is up to us as a playing group and the two captains to make sure everyone is playing in the spirit of the game," he said. But the Australian skipper felt that sledging incidents were often blown out of proportion. "There has been a lot more made about the sledging type stuff over the years than is necessary. Probably even now we are adding more fuel than needs be added to. Perception is an amazing thing. "In the first two games, there hasn't been too much difference in the aggression shown by both teams. It was a bit more body language and stuff by the Indians. That was probably to be expected, the talk about how much they want to take us on and stuff like that. That hasn't surprised us in the Australian team." He also tried to salvage his team's image, saying it was not as bad as it was projected to be. "If we were ever as bad as everyone said we are or had been than we would have had a lot more Australian players reported, especially in the last couple of years. "I have been on the bench and I don't think anyone has been reported for sledging or anything like that. I expect our guys to play cricket in a very aggressive and positive sort of manner. "I wasn't there the other day, but there were a few things on the field which he (Bhajji) was involved in one. If you look at both his record and Sreesanth's record over the last two years, they have been involved in a lot of those altercations," he said. Ponting, however, refused to give details on what Harbhajan Singh said during the match in Kochi. "Good luck to him. I really don't care to tell the truth. He has got plenty to say on the field and whenever someone says something back to him he is the first one to run away from it. We play our cricket in a nice aggressive way. We play within the rules and the spirit of the game.”
— PTI
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Dambulla, Sri Lanka, October 4 Shah's 92-ball knock guided England to 234 for eight after they had collapsed to 61 for 4. The hosts lost wickets steadily in reply to slump to 126 for nine before a last-wicket stand of 43 between Jehan Mubarak (44 no) and Dilhara Fernando (20) lent their effort respectability. Shah shared partnerships of 78 with skipper Paul Collingwood (42) for the fifth wicket and then 70 with Graham Swann (34) to lift the tourists after their shaky start.
— Reuters Scoreboard England Cook c Jayawardene b Vaas 1 Mustard c Mubarak
b Maharoof 28 Bell lbw b Maharoof 18 Pietersen c Jayawardene b Fernando 12 Collingwood lbw b Fernando 42 Shah c Silva b Maharoof 82 Bopara b Dilshan 1 Swann run out 34 Broad not out 8 Sidebottom not out 1 Extras
(lb 2, w 5) 7 Total (8 wickets; 50 overs) 234 Fall of wickets:
1-2, 2-25, 3-56, 4-61, 5-139, 6-142, 7-212, 8-230 Bowling: C. Vaas 8-1-27-1 L. Malinga 10-1-58-0 (2w), F. Maharoof 9-2-30-3, D. Fernando 10-0-45-2 (1w), T. Dilshan 10-0-49-1 (2w), S. Jayasuriya 3-0-23-0. Sri
Lanka Thuranga c Cook b Sidebottom 8 Jayasuriya c Bell b Sidebottom 10 Sangakkara c Mustard b Broad 9 Jayawardene c Pietersen
b Collingwood 23 Silva c Collingwood b Broad 0 Dilshan b Swann 29 Mubarak not out 44 Maharoof c&b Swann 6 Vaas c Mustard b Collingwood 2 Malinga run out (Bell) 0 Fernando run out (Collingwood) 20 Extras
(lb-16, w-2) 18 Total (all out, 44.3 overs) 169 Fall of wkts:
1-9, 2-21, 3-38, 4-38, 5-90, 6-90, 7-121, 8-126, 9-126, 10-169. Bowling:
J. Anderson 8-1-30-0, R. Sidebottom 10-2-23-2 (2w), S. Broad 8.3-0-42-2, P. Collingwood 8-1-31-2, G. Swann 10-3-27-2 Man of the match:
Owais Shah
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Younis holds up SA victory charge
Karachi, October 4 Younis (93 not out) and Faisal (44) put on 114 for the third wicket after Pakistan lost their openers quickly but left-arm spinner Paul Harris struck before the close to leave Pakistan on 146 for three, still needing 278 more runs to win. The visitors declared before tea to set the hosts a target of 424, with Kallis becoming only the fourth South African to compile two centuries in the same Test. Harris had Faisal caught by Kallis at slip with a sharp turning delivery. Younis was in a punishing mood, racing to 93 from 99 balls with 14 fours and a six.
— Reuters Scoreboard South Africa (1st innings):
450 Pakistan (1st innings): 291 South Africa (IInd innings): Smith c Akmal b Rehman 25 Gibbs c Faisal b Kaneria 18 Amla st Akmal b Rehman 0 Kallis not out 100 Prince b Kaneria 45 de Villiers b Rehman 1 Boucher c Misbah b Kaneria 29 Nel c Misbah b Rehman 33 Harris not out 1 Extras:
(b-10, lb-2) 12 Total (for 7 wickets declared, 89 overs) 264 Fall of wickets:
1-41, 2-43, 3-43, 4-131, 5-132, 6-188, 7-251 Bowling: Mohammad Asif 6-1-14-0, Umar Gul 12-1-35-0, Abdul Rehman 38-6-105-4, Danish Kaneria 28-3-85-3, Mohammad Hafeez 5-0-13-0. Pakistan (IInd innings): Hafeez b Steyn 1 Butt c Amla b Steyn 3 Younis Khan batting 93 Iqbal c Kallis b Harris 44 Asif batting 1 Extras:
(lb-4) 4 Total (for 3 wickets, 33 overs) 146 Fall of wickets:
1-1, 2-20, 3-134 Bowling: Makhaya Ntini 6-1-19-0, Dale Steyn 9-1-44-2, Andre Nel 7-2-35-0, Paul Harris 9-1-24-1, Graeme Smith 2-0-20-0.
— Reuters
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Kallis joins select band
Karachi, October 4 Kallis, who made 155 in the first innings, resumed on 18 on Thursday and reached his hundred just before tea to put South Africa in the driving seat at the National stadium. Kallis is also the fifth batsman to scored two Test hundreds at the National stadium. South Africans who have scored two centuries in a Test: Alan Melville 189, 104 vs England at Nottingham in June 1947. Bruce Mitchell 120, 189 vs England at the Oval in Aug, 1947. Gary Kirsten 102, 133 vs India in Kolkata in Nov, 1996. Jacques Kallis 155, 100 vs Pakistan in Karachi, Oct, 2007. Batsmen scoring two centuries in a Test at the National stadium, Karachi. Bobby Simpson (Aus) 153, 115 v Pakistan in Oct, 1964 Sunil Gavaskar (Ind) 111, 137 v Pakistan in Nov, 1978 Yasir Hameed (Pak) 170, 105 v Bangladesh in Aug, 2003 Mohammad Yousuf (Pak) 102, 124 v West Indies in Nov, 2006. Jacques Kallis 155, 100 v Pakistan in Oct, 2007.
— Reuters
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AITA to revamp tennis set-up
New Delhi, October 4 MacCurdy, who has been working for the past two years as a player development adviser with the Chinese Tennis Association under the auspices of the ITF, the International Olympic Committee and the Chinese Olympic Committee in preparation for the 2008 Olympic Games, will undertake a similar year-long programme in India. McCurdy, presently in Delhi, said here today that the slow elimination of claycourt tennis had affected the growth of the game all over the world, barring Europe. He said Europe now produces 80 per cent of world’s Grand Slam winners because of the excellent facilities and varieties available for the game in the continent. McCurdy said his year-long programme in India would be in conjunction with the AITA, the ITF, the Indian Oil Corporation and the Indian Olympic Association. He will conduct a thorough evaluation of current national team policies and develop a blue print for “high performance player development for the future”. He said India was ahead in having excellent coaches, but a system needed to be created to have a solid base and then spiralling up to the pyramid, with emphasis on the top half to have a pool of top-class players by sustaining them with finances and other facilities. He said 95 per cent of tennis in Asia was played on hard courts, and that needed to be changed if the game were to be given a great push in the continent.
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Rahul wins badminton title
Bathinda, October 4 Results: Men’s singles: Rahul Pal (winner) and Munish Bawa (runner-up), Men’s doubles: Parmod Mittal and Himanshu (winner) and Vaneet Malhotra and Rahul Pal (runner-up), Veteran category: K. K. Singla and K. K. Garg (winners) and Parmod Mittal and Vaneet Malhotra (runner-up), Boys under-19: Biment (winner) and Shakun (runner-up), Boys under-19 doubles: Shakun and Zorawar (winners) and Ankit and Arpit (runner-up), Boys under-16: Biment (winner) and Arpit (runner-up), Boys under-16 doubles: Ravi and Vijay (winners) and Ankit and Arpit (runner-up). Girls: Beant Kaur (winner) and Karamjit Kaur (runner-up).
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DSCL Open
New Delhi, October 4 Ashutosh will take on Tamil Nadu boy Prajnesh Gunneswaran in the final tomorrow. The left-handed Prajnesh felled eighth seeded Navdeep Singh of Delhi 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in a keen contest. Prajnesh has also put himself in line for a double crown by entering the boys’ singles final where he will take on the top seed from Chandigarh, Vijayant Malik. Ashutosh was in such an irrepressible form that he broke Yuki in the second game of the first set and eighth of the second set to wrap up the contest and end Yuki’s dream run. Yuki, who has been termed as an outstanding talent by the International Tennis Federation development adviser, Doug MacCurdy, who watched the match, was subdued today as Ashutosh kept him under pressure with his court craft and power play. Ashutosh hit sharp, long and precise winners to make life difficult for Yuki. Prajnesh impressed with his aggressive approach to outwit Navdeep though he had to fight hard for his points. But the Tamil Nadu left-hander with his backhand and forehand winners scored over Navdeep to have a shot at the senior crown. In the boys under-18 semifinal, the second seeded Prajnesh beat third seeded Abhijeet Tiwari 6-3, 6-2 while Vijayant breezed past sixth seeded Ronak Manuja of Maharahstra 6-0, 6-3. In the women’s singles, seedings held good as top seed Isha Lakhani and second Rushmi Chakravarty setup a title clash. Isha of Maharashtra beat third seed Sanaa Bhambri of Delhi 6-2, 6-2 while Rushmi got the better of fourth seed Sonal Phadke 6-4, 6-1. In the girls under-18 semifinals, Kelsey Sundaram of Tamil Nadu beat Aishwarya Srivasta of Maharashtra 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 while eighth seed Tanvi Shah downed Rashmi Teltumbde 6-4, 6-4 in an all-Maharashtra clash.
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Hisar win overall trophy
Sirsa, October 4 In women’s hockey, Kurukshetra continued their dominance with international players on their side and secured first position, while Bhiwani bagged the first position in men’s hockey. Hisar also recorded first position in both women and men basketball. Rohtak bagged first position in circle kabaddi, Hisar in hand ball (women), while Jhajjar in hand ball (men). In women’s category, Archana of Rohatak (karate women), Babita and Rajesh won first positions in 400m hurdles events. Sunita of Hisar won gold in 200m and 800m events, Sonu of Hisar won gold in javelin and Pooja of same district in long jump. While in men’s category, Hanuman of Sirsa won gold in javelin, Baljit of Bhiwani in 800m and Daya Kishan of Bhiwani in 200m and Pradeep of Faridabad in long jump. In the state-level events, the proper dissemination of information about the events can help the sportspersons to get a good coverage. However, the HOA in these games seems to have neglected this vital aspect that turned up while seeking details of the events here. As number of events were happening, proper arrangements should have been made to provide details of the events from the spot. But it was hard task here as neither the proper details of the winners nor the attempt was made to provide information about the events.
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Mountain cycling event from today
Dharamsala, October 4 Riding 80 km per day in eight hours, the bikers beginning from Shimla tomorrow will go through a nine-day odyssey in the tough terrains of the hill state and cover a total of 650 km before reaching Manali on October 13. Apart from decent prize money, yellow jerseys, a la Tour de France will be on stake for the bikers, besides, prize money of Rs. 6 lakh. Sources in the Himalayan Adventure Sports and Tourism Promotion Association organising the show said that the bikers would pass through the Jalori Pass situated at an altitude of about 3,250 meters providing a panoramic view of the downhill areas of Shimla, Kulu and Mandi districts.
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New Delhi, October 4 The Indian ace went down 4-6, 4-6 to the eighth seeded Italian in her first tournament after recovering from a wrist injury. Pennetta will now take on fifth seed Virgini Razzano of France in the semifinals. Sania’s doubles campaign in the WTA tier III event also came to an end after she and her American partner Christina Fusano gave a walkover to the second seeded Chinese pair of Tiantian Sun and Zi Yan in the quarterfinals.
— PTI
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Amandeep plays two-under
Chandigarh, October 4 Chandigarh’s Amandeep Johl also struck a bright patch returning a two-under card of 69 to be tied 17th after the first round. He will fly down to Delhi for the Hero Honda Indian Open after the Kuala Lumpur tournament. Rahil Gangjee was tied 11th after playing a one-under card of 70, while S. S. P. Chowrasia played a four-over 75 to be tied 85th.
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Hamilton’s win under investigation
Shanghai, October 4 Officials are reviewing video evidence suggesting that Hamilton’s driving behind the safety car at the rain-lashed Fuji speedway led to a crash that ended the race for Mark Webber and Sebastian
Vettel. “New evidence has been brought to the stewards’ attention and they are currently looking into the matter,” she added. Hamilton was expected to meet Formula One stewards on Friday.
— AFP
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With their unusual show of bravado backfiring heavily in Kochi, India will need to focus more on the game instead of trying to unsettle Australia with verbal duels as they go into the third cricket one-dayer here tomorrow.
