The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Pathan Man of the Match
Pathan owes it to Prasad, Akram

Irfan Pathan takes a stump as a souvenir. — AFP

Perth, January 19
It was a happy return to Team India for Irfan Pathan, the all-rounder who last month registered his maiden Test ton against Pakistan at Bangalore.

After India beat Australia at the third Test here, an ecstatic Pathan said: “I am grateful to Venkatesh Prasad (bowling coach), Wasim Akram and TA Sekhar (MRF Pace Academy’s coach) because they helped me a lot in my comeback.

“When I was out of the team, I always asked myself when I would play for India again.

“Last year, I didn’t bowl well and that was the reason why I was dropped. I am honest with it. I knew that I had some problems with my action right from the time I took my hat trick against Pakistan. And then I went to MRF Pace Academy to change my action and really worked on it,” admitted Pathan.

The 23-year-old Baroda player, who was touted as the “find” and “great hope” of Indian cricket a few seasons back, went into the wilderness as both form and confidence deserted him a year ago.

Pathan nevertheless found his way back with outstanding performances in India’s win in the inaugural Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa in September. He then got his maiden Test century against Pakistan.

And now comes the all-round performance, which won him the Man-of-the-Match award. Pathan picked up five wickets in the match and scored 28 in the first innings and then 46 while coming in as a nightwatchman in the second innings. — IANS

How Viru plotted Punter’s fall

Perth, January 19
If it had not been for Virender Sehwag’s intervention, Ishant Sharma may just have missed the opportunity to get the crucial wicket of Australian skipper Ricky Ponting, which turned the third Test in India’s favour today.

Perhaps not wanting to tire the youngster, Anil Kumble was all set to take off Ishant from the attack when the stump microphones picked up an interesting conversation that the Indian skipper had with Sehwag.

The opener, who was not in action in the first two Tests, walked up to Kumble and advised him to persist with Ishant for an extra over as Ponting was having a torrid time facing the 19-year-old pacer.

“Meri baat maano... Ponting strike par hai aur ladka (Ishant) rhythm mein hai (Ponting is on the strike and the boy is in rhythm),” were Sehwag’s words of wisdom to Kumble.

The Indian skipper paid heed and asked Ishant, “Ek aur karega? (Would you bowl another over?).”

Ishant replied, “Haan karoonga (Yes, I will)” and went on to repose the faith by getting Ponting caught behind of the very first ball of that extra over.

Later, Sehwag said he advised Kumble to persist with Ishant because as Delhi captain he knew that the youngster was capable of bowling long spells.

“As Delhi captain, I knew he could bowl a longer spell and that’s why I asked Anil to continue with him,” he said.

Aussies fined for slow over rate

Australia’s woes were today compounded after Ricky Ponting’s men were fined for slow over rate during the third Test.

Match referee Mike Procter imposed the fine after the hosts were ruled to be two overs short of their target when time allowances were taken into consideration.

Ponting was fined 20 per cent of his match fee while each of his players has been docked 10 per cent of their earnings. — PTI

Aussie march halted

n India did an encore by halting Australia’s 16-match winning streak. India had beaten the Aussies at Kolkata in 2001, dashing the latter’s hopes of recording their 17th successive Test victory.

n This was India’s first win at Perth in three Tests and Australia’s eighth defeat in 35.

n India recorded their fifth win in 35 Tests against Australia Down Under (lost 22 and drawn 8).

n India became the first team from the sub-continent to triumph at Perth. Pakistan have lost all their five Tests, while Sri Lanka have been defeated in two.

n This was Australia’s first Test defeat at this venue since February 1997, when they were beaten by West Indies.

n Australia’s defeat ended their best ever sequence of remaining undefeated at home — 25 matches between December 26, 2003 and January 6, 2008.

n Ponting lost his first Test at home as captain.

We are No. 2 in the world: Kumble

Perth, January 19
Basking in the glory of what he termed as the biggest triumph of his career, India captain Anil Kumble believes his side could now rightfully claim to be the second best side in the world after their stunning victory against Australia at the WACA here today.

Kumble said while an India-Pakistan series would involve more emotion, an Indo-Australian encounter has become a special rivalry that took the game to a new level.

“An India-Pakistan rivalry is very difficult to take away from the equation but I’d say the one between Australia and India is right up there because of the quality of cricket the two sides have played in recent times,” he said.

The Indian captain termed today’s win as the biggest victory ever he has been involved in his career.

“It’s right at the top, not just overseas, at whatever I have been involved in both at home and away,” said Kumble, typically choosing his words carefully.

“Not many teams are given a chance in Perth and the fact that we were 2-0 down, makes it a very good victory.” Kumble said he was eyeing a victory in the final Test in Adelaide. — PTI

Oz on the slide? Not yet: Ponting

Perth, January 19
India may have managed to halt the juggernaut but Australia’s days of invincibility are far from over, asserted captain Ricky Ponting.

Smarting from the 72-run defeat against India which denied the side a record 17th straight Test win, Ponting said it was premature to construe the defeat as beginning of the end of Australia’s hegemony in world cricket.

“It’s been interesting to read the newspapers which suggest that Australia’s days of invincibility are over, we are on the slide,” Ponting said.

“Australia is usually a team which turns things around pretty quickly,” he said.

The Australian skipper, however, did not hold himself back in praising Indians wholeheartedly in outplaying his team in the third Test. “India dominated the game. Their batsmen and bowlers were both on top of their games and they also caught most things that came their way,” he said.

On missing out on the record, Ponting said, "The run of successive wins had to stop at some time. Our cricket perhaps just wasn’t good enough to win us this Test.”

Ponting blamed his batsmen for not making a big score in the first innings. — PTI

Hats off to Jumbo’s men
India’s tour of Australia
Allan Border writes

Well, well, well. It was such an outstanding collective performance that people in Australia are applauding the way India have played. The Indians outplayed us thoroughly by playing some outstanding cricket. With the kind of cricket they have played, they thoroughly deserved to win.

What was fascinating to see was that each individual had put in such a wholehearted performance that it was very difficult to pick the Man of the Match. This is what a team needs to be able to succeed consistently. You don’t need to bank on one or two particular players, instead the collective performance is what mattered.

In the end, I felt Irfan Pathan was the correct choice to be chosen as the Man of the Match. I guess his has been a fairytale comeback. He was so fluent with both bat and the ball, particularly with the ball early in both innings that it was a sheer joy to watch him play. I think he has evolved into an accomplished all-rounder now, something that India have been missing from their repertoire for a long time.

Before the match started, we expected Australia to thoroughly dominate in Perth, primarily due to conditions. The wicket has a lot of pace and bounce, and it’s among the fastest wickets in the country. And historically, Indians have been vulnerable against pace and bounce. But they turned the tide around this time.

I think the Australians lost the match with the batting performance in their first innings. Look at how Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar applied themselves on the first day. Despite the shocking manner in which Rahul got out, both of them applied themselves and kept the scoreboard moving. The wicket looked like a 400-plus wicket, still the Australians managed to restrict India to 330. Then I thought they will bat really well. But that didn’t happen, courtesy the Indian seam bowlers. The young pace trio stood up and delivered, which was good for the game.

But more than all the individuals I think Anil Kumble would be a proud captain. The reason I have really liked this Indian team is because I can see the camaraderie within them. Even after the match finished, the players on the bench were as enthralled, if not more, than those in the eleven. And this reflects that this bunch has gelled together and is enjoying itself.

The captain plays a very crucial role in keeping the bunch together. Congratulations to him for such fantastic leadership.

Going into the Adelaide Test, the fact that the series is not yet decided speaks volumes about the quality of both teams. No doubt India would be on a massive high. And Australians will be regrouping, hoping to bounce back with vengeance.

Whatever maybe the situation, you always beware of the Aussies. They’ll have Matthew Hayden back. I just can’t wait for the match to start. — PMG

Sania goes down fighting to Venus

Melbourne, January 19
Sania Mirza put up a spirited fight against eighth-seeded American Venus Williams before crashing out in the third round of the women’s singles event of the Australian Open here today.

Sania gave the former Wimbledon champion a run for her money before losing 7-6 , 6-4 in an intense battle which lasted over one and a half hours.

In a gutsy performance, the 31-ranked Indian matched Venus shot for shot in the first set to drag it to the tie-breaker.

However, the tie-breaker proved to be a one-sided affair as Venus swept past the Indian to go one up.

The 21-year-old was mainly undone by the 30 unforced errors, which spiked her chances.

The Indian ace committed as many as 16 unforced errors in the second set which tilted the game in the favour of the American.

Besides, Venus served well never gave Sania a chance to break her in the second set as she wrapped up the match in style. — PTI

Federer survives major scare

Melbourne, January 19
Sublime artist Roger Federer turned slugger today, soaking up all his opponent’s big shots to salvage his Australian Open dream and reach the fourth round by the narrowest of margins.

While big names dropped like flies today, the defending champion drew on all his big-match experience to fight off world No. 49 Janko Tipsarevic 6-7, 7-6, 5-7, 6-1, 10-8.

It took him a shade under 4 ½ hours to repel the Serb and breathe new life into his bid for a 13th Grand Slam crown.

Women’s second seed Svetlana Kuznetsova lost 6-3, 6-4 to Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska. Sixth seed Anna Chakvetadze was beaten 6-7, 6-1, 6-2 by fellow Russian Maria Kirilenko.

Last year’s men’s runner-up Fernando Gonzalez of Chile suffered a 6-2, 6-7, 6-3, 6-1 upset loss to Croatian teenager Marin Cilic.

Serbian Novak Djokovic cruised into the fourth round with a 6-3, 6-1, 6-3 win over unseeded American Sam Querrey. He has still not lost a set in the tournament. — Reuters

I-League
JCT outplay Viva Kerala
Anil Datt

Ludhiana, January 19
Two goals in the second half steered JCT to a 2-0 win against Viva Kerala in the 12th-round soccer match of the ONGC I-League at Guru Nanak Stadium here today.

JCT earned three points to take their tally to 25, while Viva (12 points) remained in the seventh position.

It were Viva players who initiated several moves which, however, failed to acquire threatening proportions. James Singh and Wisdom Abbey managed to sneak into the rival territory but fumbled in front of the goal mouth.

JCT retaliated through Eduardo and Sunil Chhetri and launched relentless attacks. Midway through the first session, the duo combined well and stormed into the danger zone repeatedly, but luck eluded them as Chhetri’s powerful footer hit the vertical bar, much to the relief of Viva custodian Purushothaman.

With five minutes to go for the break, Viva, too forced a free kick at top of the box but could not avail of this opportunity as Abbey’s attempt was thwarted by JCT’s Gurwinder Singh.

After the first barren half, JCT produced a brilliant goal in the 56th minute. Eduardo trapped a long ball from the defence and gave it to Chhetri, who after dodging a couple of defenders gave it back to the former, who placed it neatly into the net.

Four minutes later, Chhetri collected the ball from the midfield, beat several defenders and slotted home past the outstretched hands of the Viva custodian (2-0).

Down by two goals, Viva made some concerted attempts to reduce the margin but to no avail.

Chhetri was adjudged the Man of the Match.

Women’s hockey nationals from February 1
Kusum Arora
Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, January 19
The 55th Rakshak Senior National Women Hockey Championship would be held at the Olympian Surjit Hockey Stadium here from February 1 to 9.

Addressing a press conference here today, Pargat Singh, working president of the organising committee and director, sports, Punjab, said the trials for the championship were in progress.

Sixteen teams will take part in the championship. The teams are holders Indian Railways, runners-up Haryana, Pepsu, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Mumbai, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Mizoram, Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Indian Universities, Gwalior Academy and hosts Punjab.

The matches would be played on league-cum-knockout basis. The league matches would be played in two phases with eight teams in the first phase and another eight in the second. The semifinals and final would be played under floodlights with live coverage of the summit clash by Doordarshan.

Ajeet Singh Pannu, deputy commissioner and chairman of the organising committee, thanked the Indian Women’s Hockey Federation for allotting the event to Punjab.

Punjabi varsity lifters shine

Anandpur Sahib January 19
Preeti Devi of Punjabi University, Patiala, won the gold in the 48 kg category at the All-India Inter-University Weightlifting Championship at Khalsa College here today.

Other winners from the university included Sunita Rani (women 58 kg), Karanveer (men 56 kg) and Ravi Kumar (best physique, men). — TNS