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Must-win match for India
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Team all fired up, says Uthappa
Parthiv defies Mumbai attack
Swann stars in England win Graeme Swann bowls during the third One-Day International in Dambulla on Sunday. — AFP photo
Atapattu to join ICL?
Aditya Formula Rolon champ
Raikkonen clinches Chinese GP
Jeev tied 17th after 3rd round
WC qualifiers
Punjab trounce J&K
Bob, Anand in final
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Must-win match for India
Chandigarh, October 7 And the heat becoming intense in the already surcharged atmosphere is the last thing Dhoni would want as the Indians get ready to take on in-form Australia in the fourth match of the Future Cup seven-match series at the Sector 16 Cricket Stadium here tomorrow. Commenting on the performance of non-performers, Vengsarkar had reportedly issued a statement in New Delhi yesterday that they have to perform or make way for so many youngsters waiting in the wings. “There are many players like S. Badrinath and Suresh Raina, who are performing for India A,” an unusually curt Vengsarkar said. “Performance and not the seniority or juniority should count," Ganguly is reported to have said. With the team already down by 0-2 in the series, Dhoni would be well aware that any further loss would thrust the team in a hole from where India would find it virtually impossible to extricate itself. The charismatic Dhoni will be required to gather all his leadership qualities as well as batting skills to stop the marauding Australians before it gets too late. Fed up with the inability of the top order to fire, Dhoni made it clear after the defeat at Hyderabad that top order must lay a solid foundation for the other batsmen to build the innings on. In stark contrast, the rivals have shown enough depth and resilience with the result the team has put 300 plus scores on the board twice and came fairly close to the 300-run mark in the third match. Mathew Hayden, Andrew Symonds, Michael Clark and Brad Haddin have all showed stomach for a fight and bailed the team out on a number of occasions. It is not only the Indian seniors that have failed to come good, the batting as a whole with the exception of Yuvraj Singh and, to some extent, Dhoni himself has failed to click. As if this was not enough, the collective failure of the Indian bowling attack should be a matter of bigger concern. Though volatile Sreesanth has been among wickets, his profligacy with the ball has done no good to the team. Despite that Harbhajan came up with an inspired spell in the previous game at Hyderabad and stopped the flow of runs in the middle overs, the Australians were still able to put 290 on the board. In fact, the presence of two off-spinners in Harbhajan and Ramesh Powar in second match at Kochi was most baffling where they were served a lesson in spin bowling by left-arm chinaman bowler Brad Hogg and part-time bowler Michael Clark. The Indian due were milked at will by the Aussies, whereas Hogg and Clark held a stranglehold over the Indian batsmen and shared five scalps among themselves. India will be pinning hopes on in-form Yuvraj to come good at his home ground. The left-handed batsman is in imperious form and will only be too keen to see to it that the winning run of the rivals comes to a halt here. If India gets off to a good start, the half of the problem will be over. The Indian seamers will have to be more restrictive and bowl better in the middle overs as well at the death. The left-arm spinner Murali Kartik, if included, will be interesting to watch. Kartik has the experience of doing well at this level. Now with rich county experience to fall back on, Kartik could well provide much-needed variety and spark in the Indian bowling attack. Teams (from): India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt), Rahul Dravid, Gautam Gambhir, Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar, Robin Uthappa, Yuvraj Singh, S. Sreesanth, Harbhajan Singh, Dinesh Karthik, Murali Kartik, Zaheer Khan, RP Singh, Irfan Pathan and Rohit Sharma. Australia: Ricky Ponting (capt), Adam Gilchrist, Nathan Bracken, Stuart Clark, Michael Clarke, Brad Haddin, Matthew Hayden, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Andrew Symonds, Ben Hilfenhaus, Brad Hodge, Brad Hogg and James Hopes.
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Team all fired up, says Uthappa
Chandigarh, October 7 “There was not much time with us to adjust. After the hectic schedule, we were a bit tired and fatigued. But we are positive about the next matches. We are feeling a lot better now. Surely, we will do well in the next games and make sure that we do not let the team down. We are looking forward to the challenge ahead,” he said. Uthappa agreed that the Australians had adapted very well to the local conditions. He did not, however, concur with the view that man-to-man the visitors were superior. “We are a team of individuals with tremendous skills and experience,” he said. Asked that the recent results so far do not reflect that, he quipped, “The rub of the green did not go our way. But we are all fired up now and tomorrow game will be interesting.” About the inability of the Indian bowlers to contain the marauding rival batsmen like Mathew Hayden, who has scores of 34, 75 and 60 so far, the promising Karnataka batsman replied that Venkatesh Prasad, the bowling coach, was working with the bowlers and devising a strategy. “They are obviously far more experienced than us in this aspect of the game. But we will not keep quiet and certainly hit back,” he replied when asked about the increasing aggression shown by the Australian players on the field. Uthappa did not make much of the absence of a coach for the team. “Strategy wise, may be we are missing a coach, but we have a lot of seniors in the team to seek guidance from.” He refused to say much whether India will prefer to play two specialist spinners and include left-arm specialist Murali Kartik in the playing eleven. On his own batting and the absence of a big score from his blade or whether he was able to make use of the field restrictions during Power Plays, he said he always preferred to play his natural game. “I do not give much of consideration to Power Play. I just play my natural game. If the ball is there to be hit, I will go for the shot.” Refusing to reveal anything about the team composition, he said the playing eleven will be announced tomorrow. When quizzed whether India will bat or bowl if they win the toss his prompt reply was “I am not Dhoni.” Plan ready for Yuvraj: Ponting
Australian skipper Ricky Ponting revealed that the Australians had a plan in place to rein in in-form Yuvraj Singh, who struck a belligerent 115-ball 121 in the previous match at Hyderabad. “We are aware that he has a couple of hundreds against us. We know what he is capable of,” he said. Asked about the strategy about seniors like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly in the squad, Ponting replied that they had played a lot against the trio and were well aware of their strengths and weakness. “On a given day, any of these can be a real match winner, but we have a plan in place for them.” Ponting ruled out any changes in the batting squad in view of their impressive display, but said that left-arm seamer Nathan Bracken will come into the squad. “Bracken has been a top bowler and, of late, has done very well for the team.” He, however, refused to name the bowler who will make way for Bracken. The Australian skipper said the team’s exit in the semifinal provided them adequate time to prepare for the seven-match series. |
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Gambhir injured at nets
Chandigarh, October 7 Gambhir, hero of the recent Twenty20 world championship victory and the second highest scorer after Australia’s Mathew Hayden, limped out of the ground after he slipped while facing seam bowler S Sreesanth in the nets. The left-handed batsman, seemingly in discomfort, was escorted out of the ground by physio John Gloster and team manager Lalchand Rajput. Robin Uthappa, while addressing mediamen, revealed that Gambhir will have an MRI done to ascertain the extent of the injury. "He slipped at the nets and sustained an injury. He would have to undergo an MRI. We would know about his injury status only after getting the report," Uthappa said. Uthappa, however, said that Sourav Ganguly had fully recovered and was fit to play. Ganguly had sustained a hamstring injury in the rain-hit first ODI at Bangalore and had to sit out for the two subsequent one-dayers at Kochi and Hyderabad.
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Parthiv defies Mumbai attack
Rajkot, October 7 Patel opened the Rest innings and was batting on 161 by close of play on the second day of the five-day match, with Bengal middle order batsman Manoj Tiwary keeping him company with a polished 56. Rest of India had replied with 292 for four by close of play after Mumbai, choosing to bat first after winning the toss, were bowled out for 453. Patel helped Rest survive the early setbacks as fellow opener Aakas Choptra (0), skipper Mohammad Kaif (17) and Suresh Raina (17) were all back in the pavilion with just 64 on the board. Subramaniam Badrinath (29) steadied the ship and, along with Patel, took the score to 150 when he was trapped leg before by Iqbal Abdulla. Manoj Tiwary grabbed the opportunity to show his mettle and stroked his way out of trouble with a polished half-century and was still there at close batting with 56 with the help of six fours and two sixes. But it was Patel that caught the eye with his commitment and has struck 26 boundaries in his unbeaten 161 to see Rest avoid follow-on. Earlier, the Mumbai tail carried the score past the 450-mark with some lusty hitting from Abdulla (56 not out), who ran out of partners. After a 51-run stand for the ninth wicket with experienced campaigner Ramesh Powar (45), Abdulla added another 43 with last man Rajesh Verma (9).
— IANS Scoreboard Mumbai (1st innings): Sahil Kukreja run out 110 Ajinkya Rahane lbw Bose 52 Wasim Jaffer c Kaif b Bose 8 Amol Muzumdar lbw Ojha 8 Prashant Naik lbw Ishant 12 Abhishek Nayar c Ishant b Ojha 118 Ramesh Powar c Patel b Ishant 45 Ajit Agarkar c Raina b Bose 4 Omkar Gurav c Patel b Ishant 0 Iqbal Abdulla not out 56 Rajesh Verma lbw Mishra 9 Extras (b-2, lb-9, w-3, nb-17) 31 Total (all out, 101.2 overs) 453 Fall of wickets: 1-91, 2-109, 3-150, 4-164, 5-336, 6-338, 7-343, 8-359, 9-410 Bowling: Munaf Patel 19.5-0-96-0, Ranadeb Bose 25.1-4-106-3, Ishant Sharma 22-7-58-3, Pragyan Ojha 21-0-114-2 Amit Mishra 8.2-0-48-1, S. Badrinath 5-0-16-0 Rest of India (1st innings): Aakash Chopra c Naik b Verma 0 Parthiv Patel not out 161 Mohammad Kaif lbw Agarkar 18 Suresh Raina b Verma 17 S. Badrinath lbw Abdulla 29 Manoj Tiwary not out 56 Extras (lb 5 w 4, nb 2) 11 Total (4 wkts, 70 overs) 292 Fall of wickets: 1-4, 2-33, 3-64, 4-150 Bowling: Agarkar 14-2-68-1, Rajesh Verma 14-2-49-2, Abhishek Nayar 12-3-68-0, Ramesh Powar 12-0-68-0, Iqbal Abdulla 17-3-51-1 Ajinkya Rahan 1-0-3-0.
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Dambulla, October 7 Swann was instrumental in restricting Sri Lanka to a paltry 164 all out in 41.1 overs, claiming career-best figures of 4-34 from 10 overs, and then scored a crucial 25 off 37 balls. England lead the five-match series 2-1. England had slumped to 107 for seven when Swann was joined by Stuart Broad (20 not out) for the start of an eighth-wicket partnership that produced 40 precious runs and swung the initiative back to the tourists. Broad then held his nerve after Swann had his stumps uprooted by a Dilhara Fernando yorker, guiding England home with seven balls to spare after an unbroken 17-run ninth-wicket stand with Ryan Sidebottom. Broad had also made an impact with the ball, claiming 2-26 from eight overs. Sri Lanka appeared to have claimed an early advantage by winning the toss and batting first but the top order collapsed and then Swann ripped through the middle. Left-armer Sidebottom was also on form with a penetrative new ball burst, finishing with three for 19 from 8.1 overs. Tillakaratne Dilshan, recently dropped from Sri Lanka's Test squad and under pressure for his one-day place, provided lone resistance with a fighting 70 from 84 balls with six boundaries. Sri Lanka's problems started soon after the first of three short rain interruptions that reduced the match to 48 overs per side. Sidebottom bowled Upul Tharanga (15) with a delivery that nipped back. Sidebottom also claimed the wicket of Sanath Jayasuriya (11), who top-edged a pull stroke. Broad tipped the match further England's way when Mahela Jayawardene (2) crashed his first delivery, a wide long hop, straight to Paul Collingwood at point. Kumar Sangakkara (9) was caught behind off the faintest of edges. Swann's entry into the attack brought immediate success and Chamara Silva (11) bottom-edged a sweep on to his foot and wicketkeeper Phil Mustard held on to a sharp reflex catch.
— Reuters Scoreboard Sri Lanka Tharanga b Sidebottom 15 Jayasuriya c Swann
b Sidebottom 11 Sangakkara c Mustard b Broad 9 Jayawardene c Collingwood
b Broad 2 Silva c Mustard b Swann 11 Dilshan c Collingwood b Swann 70 Mubarak c & b Swann 6 Maharoof c & b Swann 7 Vaas run out 4 Fernando c Collingwood
b Sidebottom 11 Malinga not out 0 Extras (b-1, lb-11, w-6) 18 Total
(all out, 41.1 overs) 164 Fall of wickets: 1-22, 2-33, 3-37, 4-42, 5-85, 6-93, 7-106, 8-118, 9-164 Bowling:
Anderson 8-0-35-0, Sidebottom 8.1-1-19-3, Broad 8-0-26-2, Collingwood 7-0-38-0, Swann 10-2-34-4. England Cook c Sangakkara b Vaas 0 Mustard b Maharoof 14 Bell c Dilshan b Maharoof 16 Pietersen lbw b Maharoof 8 Collingwood lbw
b Jayasuriya 31 Shah b Jayasuriya 19 Bopara lbw b Malinga 7 Swann b Fernando 25 Broad not out 20 Sidebottom not out 7 Extras
(b-1, lb-8, w-6, nb-2) 17 Total (8 wkts, 46.5 overs) 164 Fall of wickets:
1-5, 2-23, 3-44, 4-47, 5-94, 6-101, 7-107, 8-147 Bowling: Vaas 6-1-20-1, Maharoof 10-0-34-3, Fernando 10-1-30-1, Malinga 7.5-1-39-1, Dilshan 3-0-8-0, Jayasuriya 10-1-24-2 Man of the match:
Graeme Swann
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Colombo, October 7 “There are indications that he has a link with the Indian rebel league,” said Sri Lankan cricket selection committee chief Ashantha de Mel. The 36-year old batsman has apparently been at odds with the selectors since he was not included in the squad for the world cup in West Indies and had also withdrawn from the three-match Test series against Bangladesh. “With regard to Atapattu, our decision not to play him at the world cup seems to have upset him,” de Mel was quoted as saying by a Colombo-based daily. Another local newspaper ‘Lakbima News’ quoted Atapattu saying that “I hope to play cricket for two more years. That can be for Sri Lanka or anywhere else”. However, eight of top Sri Lanka players - Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara, Sanath Jayasuriya, Muttiah Muralitharan, Lasith Malinga, Farveez Maharoof, Dilhara Fernando and Nuwan Zoysa - were last week approved by the country’s cricket board last week to play in the official Indian Premier League, offering prize money of $3 million. — PTI
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Aditya Formula Rolon champ
Chennai, October 7 The crowning moment, after the victory, for Aditya was when the only Indian Formula One racer Narain Karthikeyan, presented him with his helmet. The final leg today had its thrills as the team championship leaders were decided, but Ashwin Sunder getting back to the pits in the first race of Formula Swift denied a double crown for his team Rams Racing, who finished ahead of other teams for the title in the Formula Hyundai category. Wallace Sports Racing Team with Leela, (Formula Swift), Rams Racing (Formula Hyundai) and NK Racing (Formula Rolon) were declared the winners in the team championships. The sixth and final leg of the championship at the Madra Motor Sport Trust (MMST) state-of-the-art 3.10 km track witnessed a tough fight in the Rolon category. And it was Aditya Patel at the wheels for Team NK Racing who won the prestigious championship title in this premium category with a second place on the podium in Race 1 and winning the second race. After a long-drawn-out effort lasting the entire six rounds, Aditya's triumphant moment came when he finished second in the Race 1 after an exciting duel with team mate Saran Vikram. Starting second on the grid, Aditya shot into the lead, passing pole leader Saran in the first lap. A hot chase pursued in the sixth lap from an unrelenting Saran and a brilliant move forced Aditya to lose the lead. There was no looking back for Saran after this and he held on grimly to the slim lead to record a very close win. Finishing in third place was Sarosh Hataria of Prime Racing. Race 2 saw the duo from NK Racing in full cry with Aditya celebrating his title win taking the chequered flag. Saran finished second while JD Madan of Gemini Racing finished third. The Formula Hyundai first race was a clean sweep for Team Gemini Racing as their trio of Rayomand Banajee, Anand Prasad and Shankar Narayanan finished first, second and third, respectively. However, Ashwin was back in his element in Race 2 as he raced away to take his only win of the day. Team mate Narain Shankar finished in the second place while Anand Prasad of Gemini Racing came in third. Final championship positions Formula Rolon: 1 Aditya Patel - 87 pts, 2 Rayomand Banajee - 64 pts, 3 Saran Vikram 63 - pts Team championship points: 1 NK Racing 150 pts, 2 Prime Racing 137 pts, 3 Amaron WSRF Leela 84 pts Formula Hyundai: 1 Ashwin Sundar 103 pts, 2 Rayomand Banajee - 81 pts, 3 Narain Shankar - 64 pts. Team Championship points: 1 Rams Racing -168 pts, 2 Gemini Racing -154 pts, 3 WSRF Leela - 55pts Formula Swift: 1 Ashwin Sunder 94 pts, 2 Karthik Shankar 61 pts, 3 Ajay Kini - 60 pts Team championship points: 1 WSRF Leela 154 pts, 2 Rams Racing 146 pts, 3 Gemini Racing 79 pts.
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Tokyo, October 7 Ferrer won $145,000 and became the first Spaniard since Manuel Orantes in 1977 to win the Tokyo title. “There are so many great names on this trophy,” Ferrer told reporters. “Now it says ‘Ferrer’ on it. Maybe I’m the worst player on this trophy!” Ferrer raced through the first set in 21 minutes, playing near-perfect tennis, sealing it with a ferocious backhand pass that fizzed past Gasquet’s racket. A dejected Gasquet trudged back to his chair and the third seed fared little better in the second set despite encouragement from a Tokyo crowd keen to get their money’s worth. Ferrer, playing his first tournament since reaching the semifinals of the US Open, broke for 2-0 with a blistering forehand and never looked like losing his grip on the match. The 25-year-old wrapped up his third title of 2007 on his first match point, ending Gasquet’s bid for back-to-back titles after his victory in Mumbai last week. “It’s very special,” said Ferrer. “Not because Federer won last year but because it’s on a hardcourt. My surface is clay and this is only my second hardcourt title (after Auckland). “To win in Tokyo is special because it’s a big tournament - bigger than Auckland.” Gasquet blamed fatigue for his sluggish performance and jokingly said he regretted not staying up until the early hours to watch France beat New Zealand at the rugby World Cup. — Reuters
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Raikkonen clinches Chinese GP
Shanghai, October 7 Raikkonen triumphed from Hamilton's McLaren team-mate Fernando Alonso to set up an enthralling three-man battle for the drivers' crown in the final race of the season in Brazil on October 21. Britain's Hamilton still leads with 107 points from Alonso's 103 with Raikkonen on 100 points after his fifth victory of the season for Ferrari, which was their 200th win overall. It will be the first time since 1986 that three drivers go into the final round of the season still in contention for the drivers' crown. Frenchman Alain Prost triumphed that momentous final day in Adelaide after Nigel Mansell's tyre blew in spectacular fashion and his team-mate Nelson Piquet was called into the pits. Brazil's Felipe Massa filled the other podium place on Sunday for Ferrari. Toro Rosso's Sebastian Vettel finished a career best fourth with his team-mate Tonio Liuzzi sixth. The duo were separated by Britain's Jenson Button. Germany's Nick Heidfeld was seventh for BMW Sauber with David Coulthard picking up the other point for Red Bull. Hamilton, 22, looked on course to become the first rookie and the youngest driver in history to win the world championship until it all went wrong on lap 31 of the 56-lap race. The championship pacesetter went into the pits for a badly-needed change of tyres but could not stop himself from sliding into the gravel at the side of the track. It was his first retirement of the season, yet Hamilton remained defiant. "I'm sorry for the team but I can still do it, don't worry," he said. "When I got out of the car I was just gutted because it was my first mistake all year and to do it on the way into the pits was not something I usually do.”
— AFP
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Jeev tied 17th after 3rd round
Chandigarh, October
7 With John Tyson as his amateur partner, Jeev also made it to the top 20 in the pro-am event final round. The two were tied 13th with a 21-under par 195 score after the third round. So far Carnoustie has proved to be the best course for Jeev, where he played a five-under par 67 on the opening day. At the Kingbarns course yesterday, Jeev fired birdies on the fourth and fifth holes but he lost strokes on the sixth and ninth for a par first nine. Two more birdies and two bogeys on the return nine saw him finish the day on a par note for a three-day tally of nine under par 207. It proved to be a bad day for Jyoti Randhawa who failed to make it among the top 60 qualifiers for the final round. He started with a double bogey on the sixth and conceded a stroke on the eighth to take the turn at three over par 39. Two more bogeys on the return nine and one birdie saw him finish the day with a four over par card of 76 and an overall tally of three under par 213. Jyoti Randhawa and his amateur partner Gregory Gozzo also failed to make the top-20 cut in the pro-am event when the two returned a 11 under par score of 205 after the third round. Twenty-five-year-old Englishman Nick Dougherty fired a flawless third-round 66 for a 17 under par total of 199 and a three-shot lead over Australian Peter O'Malley, who carded a 69 at the Old Course The top 60 professionals and the top 20 teams in the amateur competition will contest the final round. Leading the pro-am brigade are two teams on 27 under par: Niclas Fasth and his amateur partner, Swedish businessman Bjorn
Algkvist, and Thomas Aiken and his amateur partner, American businessman Frank Keener.
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India take on Lebanon today
New Delhi, October 7 Englishman Bob Houghton has instilled a new belief and confidence in the players but they are expected to be thoroughly tested by the Asians in the first round on the way to the mega event scheduled to be held in South Africa in 2010. India, however, will take the field with a depleted bench as goalkeeper Sandip Nandy and forward Abhishek Yadav have returned home with injuries. The Mahindra United custodian suffered a hamstring injury in the 2-1 victory over Al Nasr club in the friendly match in Dubai, while Yadav came off second best in a clash of heads. However, the saving grace is that both players are not likely to be in the starting line-up anyway with Subrata Paul making the goalkeeping spot his own while skipper Bhaichung Bhutia and Sunil Chetri being the strike pair. The team has had a thorough build-up for the game with preparatory camps in Goa as well as in Dubai for over a fortnight before moving on to the Lebanese capital. — PTI
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Punjab trounce J&K
Srinagar, October 7 Punjab won the toss and invited the hosts to bat first. Jammu and Kashmir were bundled out for 177 runs in 41.5 overs in their first innings. In reply, Punjab put on a huge 392 runs all out in their first innings. Udhay scored 125 runs while Sumit scored 104. For the home team, Asif and Mudasir claimed three wickets each. Trailing by 215 runs, the home team had a terrible start to their second innings as they lost both the openers when the score read seven. In the second innings, Punjab's medium pacer Birinder Singh took nine wickets for 47 runs. Jammu and Kashmir could score only 151 runs in their second innings. Brief scores: J&K 1st innings: 177 for all out (Mudasir 37), Punjab: 1st innings: 392 all out (Udhay 125, Sumit 104), J&K 2nd innings: 151 all out (Ubaid 26, B. Singh 9 for 47)
— UNI
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Bob, Anand in final
Sangrur, October 7 In the under-13 boys’ semifinals Rupinder beat Gurmeet and Kamaldeep beat Ramandeep while Muskan defeated Sakshi and Harlovleen got walkover from Shagufta in girls section.
— TNS
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Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s cup of woes is getting fuller by the day. As if the lacklustre performance by the Indian team in the first three matches in the series and the continuing fracas over show of aggression among the players of both sides on the field were not enough, the recent statements by Dilip Vengsarkar, chairman of selection committee, and the riposte by former skipper Saurav Ganguly concerning the performance of seniors is bound to generate some more heat.
Dambulla, October 7
