 |
|
|
India flatter to deceive
Himachal lose to Rajasthan
Chanderpaul, Powell put West Indies on top
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Liberals Hockey
Bengal ousted from Elite group
B’ball league from 2008
Ban on Haryana v’ball captain reduced
|
|
India flatter to deceive
Melbourne, December 27 They quite simply failed to cope with the accuracy of Stuart Clark, the pick of the Australian bowlers, who finished with figures of four for 28. Clarke doesn’t walk; he struts like a peacock. Today, this Sydney-sider had ample reason to be proud of his performance. Bowling stump to stump, he consistently rapped batsmen on the pads with incoming deliveries, two of which removed Rahul Dravid and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the latter with a hint of reverse swing. Sandwiched between the two dismissals were the scalps of Sachin Tendulkar, cutting from too close to his body to play on, and Yuvraj Singh, snapped up by Adam Gilchrist, which fetched former colleague Glenn McGrath’s cancer charity the first of four instalments of Aus $18,000 in the day — from each catch held by him with pink gloves identifying with the trust. Tendulkar, in probably his farewell appearance at the MCG, whetted the 30,000 crowd’s appetite with an immaculate 77-ball 62, which was replete with sumptuous cover drives, slog sweeps and a classical lofted on-drive for six, notwithstanding a heavily strapped right thigh. As long as he and the currently sublime Sourav Ganguly occupied the crease for a 65-run partnership, there were expectations of India posting a competitive total. But the Mumbaikar’s exit triggered a subsidence from 120 for three to 122 for six; and eventually to 196 all out. The chinaman and googly of Bradley Hogg attracted Tendulkar’s wrath. He was plundered for 15 runs in one over, which included a paddle sweep that unfurled his 50 and the team’s three figures. Sensibly sedate at the other end, Ganguly, too, feasted briefly on the wrist spinner by hoisting him for a straight six. Indeed, he was progressing with characteristic elegance, when a risky attempt to cut a ball that straightened and kept slightly low caused his downfall. Australian skipper Ricky Ponting persisted with Hogg in an endeavour to buy wicket. This paid off even though the left-armer haemorrhaged nearly four runs an over. He was unlucky not to have Yuvraj caught at silly point, but the appeal was rather half-hearted. Complementing Clarke was his New South Wales team-mate, Brett Lee, who initiated the inroads into the Indian batting, lacking match practice in Australian conditions. Wasim Jaffer was forced to play at an out-swinger, while VVS Laxman, after some typically exhilarating strokeplay, gloved a brute of a ball that followed him. Anil Kumble, after a sprightly 27, though, was unfortunate to be adjudged caught behind. The disappointment of the day was Dravid, who exhausted 66 balls to eke out a paltry five runs. Although spilled at gully by Phil Jaques off Mitchell Johnson before he had opened his account, he failed to capitalise. His tactics of tiring out the Australian quicks, thus, came a cropper, as did the gambit of opening with him. It was not until Hogg’s first delivery that India obtained a four. The grassy outfield demanded aggressive running between the wickets; yet several times, the Indians lazily restricted themselves to twos where threes were feasible. The morning commenced with a barrage of bouncers by Zaheer Khan at Clarke, who eventually hooked without control to be well caught by Harbhajan Singh on the square leg boundary. Scoreboard Jacques st Dhoni b Kumble 66 Hayden c Dravid b Zaheer 124 Ponting b Zaheer 4 Hussey lbw Kumble 2 M Clarke c Laxman b RP Singh 20 Symonds c Karthik b Kumble 35 Gilchrist c Tendulkar b Kumble 23 Hogg c Dravid b Zaheer 17 Lee lbw Kumble 0 Johnson not out 15 S Clark c Harbhajan b Zaheer 21 Extras (lb-5, w-2, nb-9) 16 Total (all out, 92.4 overs) 343 Fall of
wickets: 1-135, 2-162, 3-165, 4-225, 5-241, 6-281, 7-288, 8-294, 9-312. Bowling: Zaheer 23.4-1-94-4, RP Singh 20-3-82-1, Harbhajan 20-3-61-0, Ganguly 3-1-15-0, Kumble 25-4-84-5, Tendulkar 1-0-2-0. India (1st innings) Jaffer c Gilchrist b Lee 4 Dravid lbw Clark 5 Laxman c Ponting b Lee 26 Tendulkar b Clark 62 Ganguly b Hogg 43 Yuvraj c Gilchrist b Clark 0 Dhoni lbw Clark 0 Kumble c Gilchrist b Lee 27 Harbhajan c Clark b Hogg 2 Zaheer c Gilchrist b Lee 11 RP Singh not out 2 Extras
(b-4, lb-3, nb-7) 14 Total (all out, 71.5 overs) 196 Fall of
wickets: 1-4, 2-31, 3-55, 4-120, 5-122, 6-122, 7-166, 8-173, 9-193. Bowling: Lee 19.5-6-46-4, Johnson 13-5-25-0, Symonds 3-1-8-0, Stuart Clark 15-4-28-4, Hogg 21-3-82-2. Australia (2nd innings) Jacques batting 10 Hayden batting 22 Total
(no loss, 8 overs) 32 Bowling: Zaheer 4-1-17-0, RP Singh 3-1-15-0, Kumble 1-1-0-0.
|
|
India’s tour of Australia
The second day was a big let-down after an immensely entertaining first day. I enjoyed Anil Kumble’s bowling and captaincy, although he needs to talk to his players about showing more urgency on the field.
Zaheer Khan was impressive with the semi-new ball. He managed to extract reverse-swing and trouble the Australians. However, the hard work put in by the bowlers was undone by their batting counterparts. The rot started with openers Wasim Jaffer and Rahul Dravid, who I thought played for survival more than anything else. When you play the Australians, it is imperative that you go out of your way to take them on. The world’s best side is quite adept at capitalising on the smallest chink in an opponent’s armour, and the second day was no exception. While the Australians bowled very well, the Indians were responsible for digging a hole for themselves. The openers defended and defended, and increased the pressure on those who followed them. Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly were the only batsmen who displayed a positive attitude. The others allowed themselves to be intimidated by the bowlers, and paid the price. I cannot help but feel that India is missing a batsman like Virender Sehwag, who can take charge in the initial stages of the innings. They will be better off if they send him out to open with instructions to play his natural game. Sehwag is of course part of the squad, which means that he will be in with a chance of play the next game, but the Indians have created a problem for themselves by bringing Murali Kartik, the left-arm spinner. I have to say that I was disappointed with Harbhajan Singh’s bowling on the first day. India would have been better off had they picked Karthik, for Australians have tended to struggle against left-arm spinners. What I also feel is that the Indians ought to play a right-handed quickie instead of two left-armers. The Indian performance on the first day was creditable, despite their not having the perfect bowling line-up. However, the Australians managed to score relatively quickly, and one did get the feeling that the hosts had their noses in front at the end of the first day. The loss of nine wickets in a single day did depress many journalists here, but then, they have got used to seeing and reporting gigantic totals. So they overreacted a bit when their side failed to cross 350. The Australians are holding all the aces at the moment. What the Indians need is another decent outing with the ball. Their skipper will in all probability talk to his batsmen about being more positive. —
PMG
|
||
|
Melbourne, December 27 “If we can build that pressure on him every time we play by not giving him runs and by creating the intensity, then he can find ways of getting himself out,” said Clark after his 4-28 from 15 economical overs had gutted the Indian middle order on day two of the first Test. It was Clark’s miserliness which created most pressure on the Indians and stalwarts like Rahul Dravid, Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh and Mahendra Singh Dhoni fell to his metronomic accuracy. But it was Tendulkar’s wicket which Clark believed was the key. “He was batting beautifully. Any time he gets out and we see him walking back to pavilion, it’s a good moment for the opposition.” Clark’s contribution got the praise it deserved from his partner in India’s downfall, Brett Lee. The express speedster also helped himself to a four-wicket haul but he was inclined to give credit to his pace colleagues in the team. “When Clark knocked off Yuvraj and Dhoni in a space of couple of balls, it made our job a lot easier,” Lee said. Both Lee and Clark were inclined to believe that patience was the key to bowling on this MCG wicket. “In team meetings, we’ve been talking about being patient, especially on this MCG wicket which is very slow and low,” observed Lee. “Mitchell Johnson bowled brilliantly this morning in choking up things. He could easily have had 2-3 wickets.” Clark, too, felt he was supported well by fellow pacers. “A lot of credit should go to Brett and Mitchell who gave no scoring opportunity to Dravid and Jaffer. “The wicket is such that if you don’t do well, you could go for plenty. It is still flat, slow and low. We were lucky to get some reverse swing.” Lee gave the example of Rahul Dravid to emphasise how even a batsman of his class wasn’t allowed to get away. — PTI
|
||
|
|
||
|
Himachal lose to Rajasthan
Dharamsala, December 27 The loss has put a question mark over HP’s presence in the Super League next season. Himachal were all out for 122 in the second innings on the third day of the four-day match. Sandeep Gupta was the top scorer with 43 runs, while opening batsman M Gupta made 29. P Dogra, Mukesh Sharma and VS Malik went for ducks. Mathur was the wrecker-in-chief with his lethal seven-wicket spell. He was well supported by SG
Gehlot, who took two wickets, while M Aslam got one. Rajasthan reached the target of 185 runs for the loss of just one wicket. Opening batsman Vineet Saxena remained not out on 101, while RK Bishnoi scored 63 runs to pave the way for the victory. Scoreboard HP (1st innings) 280 Rajasthan (1st innings) 218 HP (2nd innings) M Gupta b Mathur 29 S Sharma c Jhalani b Gehlot 43 M Sharma lbw Mathur 0 P Dogra b Mathur 0 M Bisla c Jhalani b Gehlot 4 H Dogra lbw Aslam 5 A Mannu c Jhalani b Mathur 26 Sarandeep c&b Mathur 3 V Bhatia c Jhalani b Mathur 9 A Thakur not out 1 V Malik b Mathur 0 Extras
(nb-2) 2 Total (all out, 47 overs) 122 FoW: 1-56, 2-64, 3-64, 4-77, 5-82, 6-84, 7-87, 8-109, 9-122. Bowling: Sumit Mathur 19-6-49-7, S Gehlot 13-3-44-2, M Aslam 15-7-29-1. Rajasthan (2nd innings) Vineet Saxena not out 101 Vijay lbw Thakur 14 R Bishnoi not out 63 Extras (lb-1, nb-6) 7 Total (1 wkt, 41.5 overs) 185 Fall of
wickets: 1-23. Bowling: Thakur 14-3-51-1, Malik 10-2-38-0, Bhatia 8-0-54-0, Sarandeep 8-0-28-0, M Sharma 1-0-1-0, S Sharma 0.5-0-12-0.
|
||
|
Chanderpaul, Powell put West Indies
Port Elizabeth, December 27 Earlier, the West Indies reached 357 for six at lunch, with Chanderpaul unbeaten on 70. Ntini, armed with the second new ball, made two early strikes for South Africa before Chanderpaul and Darren Sammy (38) came together in a seventh-wicket stand of 57. Ntini caught Dwayne Bravo for 12 off his own bowling when the all-rounder tried to work him to leg but the ball went high off a leading edge towards point. Ntini and gully fielder Herschelle Gibbs converged and almost collided before Ntini clutched the ball. Ntini followed up by having Denesh Ramdin caught behind for one. Scoreboard West Indies (1st innings) Gayle c Kallis b Harris 66 Ganga c Boucher b Nel 33 Morton c Prince b Ntini 33 Samuels c Kallis b Steyn 94 Chanderpaul b Nel 104 Bravo c&b Ntini 12 Ramdin c Boucher b Ntini 1 Sammy run out 38 Taylor b Steyn 9 Powell not out 1 Edwards c Prince b Nel 0 Extras
(lb-8, nb-4, w-3, b-2) 17 Total (all out, 133.4 overs) 408 Fall of wickets: 1-98, 2-102, 3-166, 4-277, 5-296, 6-304, 7-361, 8-385, 9-407. Bowling: Steyn 31-4-121-3, Ntini 30-6-100-3, Nel 25.4-7-85-3, Harris 30-9-69-1, Kallis 17-8-23-0. — Agencies
|
||
|
Hi-Fliers down Sultans
Chandigarh, December 27 With this win, the Hi-Fliers reached the top of the table with eight points in four matches, while Hyderabad remained on five points. Today’s match, sans any penalty corner or penalty stroke, was marked by sluggishness as only a handful of attacks were made by both teams. The Sultans missed an opportunity in the 13th minute of the game when Pakistani Kamran Ahmad’s shot from the top of the ‘D’ was well stopped by Hi-Fliers custodian Bharath Kumar. In the 23rd minute, Hi-Fliers’ Hyo Sik drew first blood. Sik, who positioned himself in front of goalmouth during a move, just changed the direction to sound the board after getting a quick pass from Arjun Halappa from the left side of the striking circle. After that, Sunil of Hi-Fliers dribbled from the centre up to the circle but could not finish off as his hit ricocheted off a pole of the goalpost. At half-time, Hi-Fliers were leading 1-0. Deedar Singh reduced the margin in the 35th minute when Jasbir Singh send the ball into the striking circle. VS Vinaya of Hi-Fliers intercepted the pass midway but could not retain the ball. Taking advantage of the lapse, Deedar pounced on it to get the equaliser. The goal by skipper Tushar Khandekar in the 60th minute was a beauty. He collected a pass on the top of the circle from Vinaya. His bullet-like shot banged the board. In the fourth quarter, the Sultans tried hard to equalise the score but the alert defence of Hi-Fliers did not allow to make further damage. Khandekar was declared the Man of the Match.
|
||
|
Liberals Hockey
Nabha, December 27 In today’s matches, Corps of Signals, BSF, Jalandhar, Punjab Police and Sports Hostel, Lucknow, beat their respective rivals to book quarterfinal places. Air Force, New Delhi, EME, Jalandhar, Ropar Hawks and Punjab and Sind Bank, New Delhi, had already made the cut after yesterday’s matches. Corps of Signals outplayed CISF, New Delhi, 3-1 in a fast-paced encounter. CISF opened the proceedings on an optimistic note when their striker C. Lakra wove his way dangerously into the striking circle before unleashing a blinder which brooked no resistance from the custodian. Stung by this reverse, Signals made a couple of substitutions and their wingers started moving up front more often. Amritpal Singh soon found the equaliser when he scored on a penalty stroke which came the Signals way when defender C. Ekka committed a foul just near the goal line. Signals forged ahead a couple of minutes later when M. Lakra pounced upon a rebound which was not cleared properly by the CISF defenders. M. Lakra, always sensing an opportunity, latched on to the rebound to send the ball home. This goal virtually took the steam out of the CISF attack and towards the fag end of the contest, the New Delhi securitymen were bereft of ideas. It was all over for CISF when M. Lakra pumped in his team’s third goal with a well-placed shot. BSF outstroked Western Railway,
Mumbai, 7-6 after both teams played out a 2-2 draw in regulation time. The penalty shootout saw both teams scoring four goals apiece after which the sudden death had to be applied. It was in this period that BSF custodian M. Subbiah held his nerve and palmed off the ball over the horizontal giving his team a 7-6 victory.
|
||
|
Bengal ousted from Elite group
Kolkata, December 27 Chasing 214 runs for victory, Bengal were shot out by Andhra Pradesh bowlers for 112 within 30 overs in their second innings to set up an emphatic victory. Bengal’s batting continued to crumble like cookies as none other than Manoj Tewari (35) and captain Laxmi Rattan Shukla (39) reaching double figures. Y Ganewshwara Rao and P Vijay Kumar took five wickets apiece to make the kill smooth and clinical. Earlier, AP were dismissed for 190 in their second innings with MSK Prasad hitting a brilliant 54. Ranadeb Bose bowled his heart out with seven wickets in the second essay, but that was not good enough as the Bengal batsmen did not join the party. In the first innings Bengal were shot out for 98 in reply to AP’s 121. — UNI
|
||
|
Puducherry, December 27 The top six teams in the ongoing 58th Senior National Championships here would play in the league with the option to choose two players each from other state teams or overseas. A decision in this regard was taken at a meeting of Basketball Federation of India affiliate units late last night, BFI secretary-general Harish Sharma told PTI here. The league, which he said would be “near professional”, will be played over one month and the BFI technical committee would finalise the format and other details. “We are identifying the venues. These may be two or three. The technical committee will finalise the format,” Sharma added. He said ESPN had in principle agreed to telecast the matches. Though the league may fall short of India’s Serbian coach Aleksander Bucan’s vision for a full-fledged professional league, it would still be a move in the right direction. Services, Uttarakhand and Punjab will feature in the inaugural league, having booked their berths in the semifinals here. However, the women’s league had not yet been formulated considering that there was a wide gap between three top teams — Railways, Delhi and Chhattisgarh — and the rest. — PTI
|
||
|
Ban on Haryana v’ball captain reduced
Jaipur, December 27 Meanwhile, Volleyball Federation of India (VFI) control committee reduced the ban on Haryana captain Amir Singh to one match. Earlier, the committee, on a complaint of misbehaviour lodged by referee PK Jaganath, who offciated in the Haryana-Services tie, had imposed a ban of two matches on Amir and expelled coach Omprakash from the championship. The latest decision has been taken on a request by Haryana State Volleyball Association secretary Sube Singh, said VFI control committee chairman ND Sharma. Earlier, Ramavtar Singh Jhakhar, organising secretary, alleged that three Haryana players had created a scene last night when they tried to take dinner without producing the meal coupon. He also alleged that the players were drunkand that they broke plates. Captain Amir denied that the players were drunk, claiming that they had come from the court after playing the match. — UNI
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
