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Misbah keeps Pakistan afloat
Pak top order was pathetic
Ganguly praises Kumble
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‘I will be happy with 250’
Vengsarkar relents, not to write columns
VRV to bolster Punjab
England miss Euro ’08 bus
Golf World Cup
Chhabra quits top SGFI post
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Misbah keeps Pakistan afloat
New Delhi, November 22 On a slow track, the Indian bowlers did well to reduce Pakistan to 142 for eight after the visitors won the toss and opted to bat. But at the end of the day, India could not fully capitalise on their early successes due to the stout resistance offered by Misbah and Mohammad Sami. The ninth-wicket pair had put on 68 runs at close of play. Misbah was batting on 71 (5x4, 1x6) and Sami was unbeaten on 20 (2x4, 1x6). Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik won the toss and decided to bat, a decision which was understandable. With India boasting of a better spin attack in captain Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh, Malik did not want to face the music on a turning track in the fourth innings. With the ball keeping low and slow, the Pakistan batsmen found getting runs a difficult task. And to their shock, Indian pace spearhead Zaheer Khan inflicted two quick blows, removing opener Salman Butt and one-down batsman Younis Khan. Butt was bowled with a ball which cut in, eluding his bat, to shatter his bails. Younis went for a big hit, but failed to get his shot right, and offered an easy catch to Munaf Patel at long leg. Kumble, who brought himself on to bowl from the far end replacing Munaf in the 16th over, got going when the other opener, Yasir Hameed, went for a swipe, missed and was bowled. He was getting into his groove with four well-struck boundaries when Kumble tossed a full-length ball to fox him. Pakistan went to lunch with three wickets down for 74 runs, but suffered another numbing blow in the second over after the interval when Sourav Ganguly trapped the dangerous Mohammad Yousuf lbw for 27. Yousuf, who had greeted Harbhajan with a cover drive, struck five boundaries in his knock but it was little consolation for the visitors as Kumble also got rid of wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal and Shoaib Akhtar, while Shoaib Malik edged Munaf into the hands of Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Sohail Tanvir became Harbhajan’s lone victim, but Misbah and Sami stood in the middle defiantly even though Kumble shuffled the bowling attack intelligently. He not only gave Ganguly a longish spell, but even handed over the ball to Sachin Tendulkar for a two-over spell late in the day. The Indian captain also took the new ball in the 82nd over, but Misbah and Sami stood their ground to carry over the fight to the second day. Kumble must have regretted his decision to keep out Murali Kartik, as the latter could have provided variety to the spin attack. Ganguly did well with his medium pace to supplement the efforts of Zaheer and Munaf, but another specialist bowler could have served India’s cause better. Kumble opted to rely on the tried and tested players, and with three former captains — Tendulkar, Ganguly and Rahul Dravid —along with his deputy Dhoni chipping in with valuable inputs, Pakistan will find the going tough. Though the Indian fielding left much to be desired, Pakistan were also dogged by the inability of their batsmen to stand upto the challenge. Pakistan also shuffled their batting order, but they continue to struggle in finding a reliable opening pair. Kumble claimed his 50th wicket at Ferozeshah Kotla when he dismissed Kamran Akmal. Playing his sixth match at his happy hunting ground, Kumble took his tally to 51 with the wicket of Shoaib Akhtar. Kumble is way ahead of Kapil Dev, who is second with 32 wickets in nine matches at this venue. Scoreboard
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It was terribly disappointing to see the way the Pakistan top order performed on the opening day of the Kotla Test. There were no signs of the Pakistanis applying themselves anywhere on the field. They have frittered away the advantage that they had gained by winning the toss.
The importance of Day 1 of the opening Test of a series can never be overestimated. A team that wins the toss, especially under such conditions - and knowing the history of this venue so well - must make best use of them, especially since it was in favour of the batsmen. But Pakistan today did not seem to have a single clue as to what to do after the toss. It was as if they had decided that, yes, if we win the toss we will bat, but it was a blank hence forth. What I would like to know is what the coach, the captain and the support staff are doing? If there was any sort of planning, it was not very evident by the way the top order refused to get to grips with the job of putting runs on the board. There should have been some discussions about the wicket, the conditions, on how to tackle the different Indian bowlers under these circumstances. But I am sorry to say that this did not seem to be the case today. It is well known that the on a Kotla wicket, the ideal way to go is to bat once. Bat well, bat deep and get plenty of runs on the board before letting your bowlers loose. That also implies an understanding of the conditions - knowing that the ball will keep low, that there will be some swing. But if the team management and the top order batsmen cannot read the wicket, then there is something wrong. Again, four of the eight wickets that fell today went to the spinners. Let us not forget that this is the first day of a Test match. What this suggests to me is that, a) the batsmen lack the technique and application to play straight and, b) they are not able to read the spinners, to see and judge what is coming out of the bowler's hand. Of course, there was some help for the bowlers too and the Indians did well. No doubt of that. But the way the batsmen played today was pathetic, to say the least. It is almost as if most of them do not know how to play pace, and they do not even know how to play spin. Had it not been for the splendid effort by Misbah-ul Haq and Mohammad Sami, who showed the senior batsmen how to go about playing on this track during their unbeaten ninth wicket partnership, Pakistan would have been in far deeper trouble - most of it of their own making. — News Watch Asia
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New Delhi, November 22 Lavishing praise on India’s new captain Kumble, Ganguly said, “He is fantastic. Even when he was not the captain, we knew he has the potential to wear the hat.” “He set the field very well. Moreover, he made me bowl 12 overs,” the southpaw said, with a bit of mischief. When asked about the bowling performance of Team India on the first day of the first Test, Ganguly said, “It would have been better if bowlers could have polished off the tail. But even then it was a good team performance.” The 35-year-old Ganguly showered praise on pacer Munaf Patel. “I am very happy for Munaf, especially as he was making his come back.” “He had the capability but there were some criticism which were not justified. In his come back match, he bowled very well,” he said. Ganguly also gave credit to Misbah and Sami for their defiant stand. “We have to give credit to Sami and Misbah for their batting display.” But he quickly added, “To be honest, in every Test there has to be at least one partnership.” When quizzed if the morning dew helped Team India, Ganguly was quick to point out, “It always swung a bit in the morning in Delhi, especially in the winter. But we bowled in the right areas.”
— UNI
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New Delhi, November 22 ''We didn't go there and do our home work well. I don't know, what is a good score in this wicket, but I will be happy with a score of 250 which would be competitive,'' Lawson told mediapersons here after the conclusion of the opening day's play in the first Test against India. ''If we bowl straight and stick to our plans, then we are very much in the game,'' he asserted. Not holding his irritation at the way Pakistani batsmen played today, especially in the first session of the day, Lawson said, ''It seems our top-order batsmen are still in the ODI frame of mind. They played a lot of shots which is suited to the one-day internationals (ODIs). It is such a bad habit.'' He also credited the Indian bowlers for their wonderful bowling display, which almost decimated the Pakistani batting line-up, reducing them to five for 83 in the 33rd over. ''India bowled very good line and length. They made the new ball count. The pitch has variable bounce, some balls were keeping low while some bounced high. ''The weather also helped the Indians. It was a coolish day, with misty conditions to assist the pacers,'' he said. Heaping praise on the 68-run ninth-wicket stand between middle-order batsman Misbah-Ul-Haq and pacer Mohammed Sami which eventually saved the day for Pakistan, the Aussie said, ''They (Misbah and Sami) were absolutely perfect. They ran singles and rotated the strike.''
— UNI
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Vengsarkar relents, not to write columns
New Delhi, November 22 The BCCI, which was to serve a show cause notice to Vengsarkar for continuing to write columns flouting its directive, decided not to take any action after his climbdown. Vengsarkar had a long meeting with BCCI President Sharad Pawar and other top officials at the Ferozshah Kotla here and the matter was resolved. "Vengsarkar had a long meeting with president Sharad Pawar and other top BCCI officials and he was now given a categorical assurance that he would no longer write columns. BCCI Vice-President Rajiv Shukla told PTI. Shukla said since Vengsarkar has given this assurance and the matter has been resolved, the BCCI will no longer serve the show cause notice on him. On a day of high drama, the BCCI first threatened to issue a show cause to the chief selector for continuing to defy the ban as his columns appeared in Hindi daily 'Amar Ujala' and Marathi paper 'Sakal'. The BCCI move triggered off the collision that Vengsarkar may quit his post as Chairman of selection committee. Vengsarkar, who watched the proceedings of the first day's play between India and Pakistan, did not take calls nor interacted with the media at Kotla. The stand-off between the BCCI and Vengsarkar reached a flash point today with the BCCI bluntly telling the former skipper to either stop writing columns in newspapers or quit his post. The BCCI, which had issued a gag order on selectors, threatened to slap a show cause notice telling him that he could quit the post of chief selector if he continued to function as a columnist. Vengsarkar had chosen to ignore the BCCI diktat with his column appearing in a Hindi daily 'Amar Ujala' and Marathi paper 'Sakal' today, prompting the BCCI to toughen its stand. "The BCCI is of the view that if he wants to continue as a columnist, he can give up the post of the chief selector," Shukla said. Vengsarkar has been at the centre of a controversy for continuing to defy the ban on writing columns and interacting with the media. The BCCI had recently issued a seven-point guideline to the selectors which not only barred them from writing columns but also sitting in the Indian dressing room during international matches.
— PTI
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Kaif repentant, to focus on game
Chandigarh, November 22 Kaif shook hands with Ravi Kumar, cameraman of the Hindi daily, wishing him “the best”. He also expressed regret over the incident. Answering a volley of questions, Kaif said it had all happened due to a misunderstanding. “Everyone commits mistakes. It is not my life to go to the police and courts... My life is in my game and I should focus on it,” he said. He said he could not sleep last night and had received calls from his parents and friends. The way the incident had been projected had upset him and he would be returning with bitter memories of the city. Kaif reached the office of the DSP (South) at the Sector 36 police station at 4.45 pm after the police pursuaded him to do so. On seeing a large number of mediapersons, including the electronic media, in the office, he developed cold feet. Thereafter, the SSP directed DSP K.I.P. Singh to escort Kaif to the police station. The mediapersons demanded that the police produced a copy of the FIR against Kaif before resolving the issue. The mediapersons insisted that Kaif should come out from the hotel and apologise, which he refused. The protest ended at 3 am when the SSP S.S. Srivastva reached the Sector 17 police station and said a case under Sections 427 (damaging property), 323 (causing injuries) and criminal intimidation (506) of the IPC had been registered against Kaif, his coach Gyanendra Pandey and others. The DSP KIP Singh said it was premature to say anything at this stage. He said the case would be sent for legal opinion and further action taken thereafter.
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Munaf on the ball again
Chandigarh, November 22 Sharing the new ball with Zaheer and bowling his first three overs maiden, the Ikhar seamer was off to a perfect start. Having found his bearings, he started to pick up in speed as well as efficacy. Pinning the batsmen on to the back foot with sharp rising in-swingers and occasionally getting the ball to deviate away, he kept one end bottled up, drying the flow of runs, while Zaheer struck two vital blows from the other end. His first spell read a miserly 7-3-14-0. There were a couple of close calls against opener Yasir Hameed, Mohammad Yousuf and Kamran Akmal, which, unfortunately for him, did not go his way. But a relentless Munaf continued to keep coming at the batsmen. He was rewarded for his persistence, getting the key scalp of skipper Shoaib Malik. The ball rose after pitching and deviated a shade away towards the slip cordon, taking the thick edge off Malik’s blade for Dhoni to take a good catch diving to his right behind the stumps. It was a just reward for the efforts by a bowler who had just started to lose his way since January after making a memorable debut in the Mohali Test against England in March 2006. Munaf, who had a match haul of seven wickets in the match, emerged the most successful Indian bowler on his debut. Having been axed from the Test squad after the third Test against South Africa in early January, Munaf was spending time in the wilderness battling injuries and sudden dip in form. Nobody knew what was wrong with the talented seamer. A brilliant spell in the Irani Trophy match last month for the Rest of India against Mumbai shifted the focus back on Munaf, proving what a fully fit Munaf was capable of. In the Ranji Trophy match against Rajasthan earlier this month, he took four wickets. Munaf got a call for the Delhi Test against Pakistan out of the blue, as a result of injuries to RP Singh and S Sreesanth. Though he got the lone wicket of Malik, his bowling was on target and nippy, showing that Munaf was on the right track. If Pakistan were reduced to 142 for 8 at the tea break, Munaf deserves as much credit as other bowlers. If allowed to settle into the team gradually and if he is able to remain in top shape steering clear of injuries, Munaf can be an asset to the team. With a hectic schedule awaiting India and seam bowlers facing the maximum brunt of injuries, Munaf’s performance today provides a silver lining in the wake of injuries to two key seamers.
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VRV to bolster Punjab
Mohali, November 22 Undoubtedly, the visitors will have an edge over the hosts having international players like skipper Mohammad Kaif, Suresh Raina, Piyush Chawla and Parveen Kumar in their ranks. The double ton (203) by Suresh Raina against Orissa in the first match and a superb unbeaten century (122 n o) by Kaif against Andhra Pradesh means Punjab will be faced with two key in-form batsmen. Twenty-year-old seamer Sudeep Tyagi, in his first Ranji session, has shown his ability by snapping 16 wickets in two matches. Now the bowling attack of UP will have more sting with the joining of medium pacer Parveen Kumar, who made his debut in the last ODI at Jaipur against Pakistan. Parveen Kumar is likely to replace Ratnesh Mishra. The home team, which consists mainly of new faces, will rely on skipper Pankaj Dharmani, Uday Kaul and Karan Goel on the batting front. The only respite for the team is the comeback of pacer VRV Singh, who could not play in the earlier ties due to injury. However, his fellow experienced Gagandeep Singh will miss the match having failed to recover from injury. The job of wicket keeping would be entrusted to Uday Kaul. This was indicated by the Punjab coach Gursharan Singh.
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London, November 22 Instead of hanging on to the point that would have secured their place in the tournament to be co-hosted by Austria and Switzerland, they conceded a third goal 13 minutes from time, allowing Russia to steal into second place in Group E and qualify with Croatia. It was the first time since 1984 that England missed out on the European Championship finals and the first time since the 1994 World Cup that they failed to qualify for a major tournament. Former England captain David Beckham, a second-half substitute, said: “This is a big setback, not just for the players but the nation...We have to show the English way which is to fight back.” The home crowd was stunned after eight minutes when Scott Carson, controversially chosen in goal after making his debut in a friendly only last week, allowed a speculative shot by Niko Kranjcar to skid off him and into the net, and it looked all over when Ivica Olic doubled the lead six minutes later. England pulled level with a 56th-minute Frank Lampard penalty followed by a great goal by striker Peter Crouch, who expertly controlled a cross from half-time substitute Beckham before volleying the equaliser. Croatia, though, continued to look dangerous and won it in the 77th-minute when substitute Mladen Petric lashed in a shot from the edge of the box. The Croatians will be among the second seeds when the draw for the finals is made in Lucerne, Switzerland on December 2. McClaren sacked Steve McClaren was sacked as England head coach today following their failure to qualify for Euro 2008, the Football Association confirmed. “The FA board unanimously decided to terminate McClaren’s contract with immediate effect,” FA chairman Geoff Thompson told a news conference. The FA said it had also terminated the contract of assistant coach Terry Venables.
— Reuters
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Golf World Cup
Dongguan (China), November 22 Randhawa reeled off six birdies to produce a stellar show that had Ghei highly impressed. “Jyoti played really well. I was just riding along,” said Ghei. “This is a very good start. It would have been better if we had picked up a few more shots. I missed a small one on the 16th, and on the par-five 15th we didn’t make a birdie after good drives,” he said. The Thai duo of Thongchai Jaidee and Prayad Marksaeng, with a nine-under 63, ended the day in joint third place, two behind the US team of Book Weekley and Heath Slocum, who combined for a blistering 61 to lead by one shot over Germany, represented by Alex Cejka and Martin Kaymer.
— PTI
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Chhabra quits top SGFI post
Patiala, November 22 Chhabra, who held the post for seven years, resigned though he had a year’s term left. During his tenure, Chhabra was in the running for the post of secretary-general of the Asian School Sports Federation. However, his visit to Singapore, where the election was to be held, could not materialise.
— OSR
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