 |
|
|
Tri-series starts today
Match timings: 8.45 am to 12.15 pm, 1.00 pm to 4.30 pm
The future is here & it’s
lean and hungry
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Probe BCCI bullying: FICA
De Villiers stars in SA win
Akhil stuns Olympic silver medallist, bags gold
Paes, Bhupathi yet to join squad
Women’s Hockey
A match between Punjab and Uttar Pradesh in progress during the 55th Rakshak Senior Women’s National Hockey Championship in Jalandhar on Saturday.
— Tribune photo by Pawan Sharma
Sania saves India from relegation
Sarpreet pedals to victory
Yadav guides Jets to victory
|
|
The future is here & it’s
lean and hungry
Chandigarh, February 2 With Zaheer, the best bowler in the side for nearly a year, out for the entire series, nippy S Sreesanth not in the touring squad on account of injury, not much known about Munaf Patel and uncertainty continuing about the form of Irfan Pathan, India’s campaign Down Under suddenly looked in tatters. India had lost the Melbourne Test badly and the resultant seam attack without Zaheer looked far too inexperienced vis-a-vis their rivals for the pace-friendly tracks for the remaining Tests. For a moment, one thought that a second-string pace attack would be easy meat for the mighty Australian batsmen. But what transpired, particularly at Perth and earlier at Sydney, belied all expectations. The pace trio rose to the occasion magnificently. Jolting the mighty Australian batting in their own den like never before, the trio conjured up the images of peerless Glenn McGrath and Javagal Srinath. Pace and bounce and nagging accuracy of Ishant Sharma and the swinging deliveries of RP Singh and Irfan Pathan had the rival batsmen in a tangle. The brave deeds by the youngsters went a long way in the Indian team vaulting to the number two slot in the ICC rankings. The performance of teenage rookie fast bowler Ishant was most gratifying. When the gangling Delhi bowler took his first Test five-wicket haul against Pakistan just a couple of months earlier, Ishant looked like a fine prospect. But the way he performed in the last three Tests in Sydney, Perth and Adelaide was nothing less than sensational. Rarely, maybe except Srinath, had an Indian quickie ran in to bowl hard and harried the best batsmen with his pace and aggression so early in his career. Though he was denied the wicket of in-form Andrew Symonds in the Sydney Test as Steve Bucknor ruled it otherwise, the fast bowler had shown that he had arrived and had the ammunition to rattle the best. Though he went wicketless in the match, one could easily make out that he belonged to the highest grade of cricketers. In the third Test at Perth, what Ishant achieved was nothing less than a fairytale. Playing only his fourth Test, the lanky seamer made Ricky Ponting, among the best in the business, look a novice. He harried the Australian skipper no end, eventually getting the key scalp with a beauty that bounced and darted towards the slip cordon. Ishant consumed Ponting in the second innings also. And it was this bowling performance that went a long way in the team keeping its head high after the low of Sydney which will forever be remembered for all the wrong reasons, like the controversial umpiring by Bucknor and Mark Benson. Though India lost the series, Ishant, RP Singh and comeback bowler Pathan made a potent combination. Pathan regained his ‘banana swing’ which made him a tough customer when he burst onto the scene in the 2003-04 series in Australia. A rejuvenated Pathan, with a five-wicket match haul and crucial contributions with the bat as well, played a key role in India ambushing Australia at Perth. RP Singh donned the role of the pace spearhead like a seasoned campaigner. He tormented the Australian batsmen with his in-dipping and outgoing deliveries and played a big role at Sydney and Perth before breaking down with a hamstring tear in the Adelaide Test, dealing a blow to India in their quest for a series-levelling victory. Venkatesh Prasad, the bowling coach, was so euphoric with the performance of his young seamers that he described the Indian bowling attack as the best in the world. Prasad’s version looked a bit more optimistic, but when it came from someone like Adam Gilchrist, it looked more plausible. The Australian vice-captain observed that Zaheer, RP Singh, Irfan, Sreesanth and Ishant had evolved into a strong bowling unit which was the second best after Australia. Dennis Lillee went a step further. Concurring with Gilchrist that the Indian pace attack was the second best, the MRF Pace Bowling Foundation Director said the Indian attack had the ingredients to be the best in the business. The Aussie pride having been dented in the Test series, the Harbhajan Singh verdict still continuing to rattle them and the zeal to prove to the world that they truly are world No. 1 team in ODIs as well will make the hosts hit back with a vengeance in the triangular series also involving Sri Lanka starting tomorrow. The loss in the Twenty20 match yesterday, where the Indians were virtually blown away, proved that the young Indian batters would find the going tough in the tri-series. The young pace attack which now includes S Sreesanth and Munaf Patel would be needed to continue to do the good work they have done in the series so far. Otherwise, the gains in the Test series will evaporate sooner than expected!
|
||
|
Melbourne, February 2 The association, which represents leading players from Australia, New Zealand and England, wants the inquiry to cover the Cricket Boards of India and Australia, arguing that one - BCCI - was "hell bent on protecting its image" and the other - Cricket Australia - "hell bent on protecting its revenues". "Allegations of intimidation, interference and some good old backroom bullying have unfortunately been all too prevalent in this issue and other issues," Association's Chief Executive Tim May, a former Australian off spinner, said in an interview to 'Cricinfo'. "I am confident that the ICC will launch a thorough investigation into the alleged actions of both boards and key officials -- there are serious allegations of intimidation and interference of those involved in this hearing and such allegations must be dealt with swiftly and decisively," he emphasised. May felt Cricket Australia (CA) and the BCCI failed Andrew Symonds, who accused Harbhajan of racially abusing him, by not acting properly on his complaint. "... a player held an honest and reasonable belief that he had been racially abused. It does not matter if he may have been mistaken, the fact is, he held an honest and reasonable belief that he had been racially abused. For this, he has been portrayed as a villain," May said. The livid FICA CEO felt by letting Harbhajan go scot-free, the two Boards have shown a lack of respect for a serious issue like racism. "Racism is a sensitive and very serious issue within our respective communities. The boards have failed in their responsibility to uphold their respect for this issue. "They have failed the players, they have failed both the ICC's Code of Conduct and the ICC's Anti Racism Code, and they have failed the communities where racism is a real, live issue," he said. May said the handling of the issue has been so sloppy that players would think twice before coming forward to complain about racism in future. "After this latest episode and seeing how cricket handles this type of issue, why would any player possibly think about reporting any further instances of racism?" May asked.
— PTI
|
||
|
Pak complete clean sweep
Sheikhupura, February 2 Opener Khurrum Manzoor, also making his debut, scored a fluent 50 and put on 97 runs from 100 balls with Younis Khan (63) to seal victory with 19 overs to spare. Younis played in an attacking mode to enthrall the full house at the stadium which has not hosted an international game for nine years. He attacked from the start, hitting eight fours and a big six off Elton Chigumbura who went for 14 in one over. His runs came from just 51 balls before he was caught at mid-on by Hamilton Masakadza off left-arm spinner, Ray Price who was impressive on a day when all the visiting bowlers were treated harshly by the batsmen with Christopher Mpofu going for 23 in three overs. Price also bowled Manzoor in the next over after he had reached his half-century. Manzoor, who hit six fours in his 74-ball innings, was bowled off-stump trying to sweep Price. Manzoor and opener Nasir Jamshed gave a quick start of 40 to their team in 6.1 overs before the latter was out for 19 trying to hit Chigumbura out of the ground and holing out to Keith Dabengwa at long-on.
— Reuters
|
||
|
Durban, February 2 Pollock, playing in his last match on his home ground before retiring after tomorrow’s final match in Johannesburg, delighted a capacity crowd by hitting the winning boundary to seal South Africa’s win with 13 balls to spare in the fourth one-dayer yesterday. South Africa faced a bigger than expected target after an unbeaten last-wicket stand of 57 between Jerome Taylor (43 not out off 21 balls)and Fidel Edwards (12 not out)lifted the West Indies to a competitive total of 263 for nine. But Graeme Smith got South Africa off to a fast start, hammering 50 off 37 balls and dominating an opening stand of 77 with Herschelle Gibbs (39).
— AFP
|
||
|
Akhil stuns Olympic silver medallist, bags gold
Bangkok, February 2 The 27-year-old bantam weight pugilist, who yesterday became the second Indian after AL Lakra to qualify for the Beijing Olympics, drubbed the local favourite 21-11. "It is certainly one of the most memorable wins of my career... right up there with the Commonwealth Games gold medal that I won in 2006," an ecstatic Akhil told PTI. Apart from Akhil's gold, India ended the tournament with a rich haul of three bronze medals through Amandeep Singh (48kg), Dinesh Kumar (81kg) and Manpreet Singh (91kg). For Akhil, the triumph caps a fantastic comeback from a career-threatening wrist injury, which kept him out of action for more than half of 2007. "It is indescribable, mind numbing ... I never thought that I would be able to come this far after that injury which had rendered my right hand useless for some time," he said. "It took a surgery and months of rehabilitaion before I entered the ring again. Now that I have qualified for Beijing, it has given me fresh impetus." The Indian stepped into the ring today with everything to win and hardly anything to lose. Edgy to start with, Akhil trailed 3-4 in the first round before levelling the score 7-7 in the second and then going on a rampage to leave Petchkoom stunned by delivering powerful uppercuts and hooks. Akhil established a 14-9 lead in the third round and scored eight more points -- against his opponent's three -- in the fourth and final round to emerge champion. National coach G S Sandhu lavished praise on Akhil. "It is a fantastic performance and I don't have words to describe how impressive Akhil was today... beating an Olympic medallist is a tremendous achievement." "He was a bit nervous in the first round but calmed down soon and amazed everyone by going on the offensive in the last two rounds," Sandhu
said. — PTI
|
||
|
Paes, Bhupathi yet to join squad
New Delhi, February 2 While the Indian team practised in two sessions (morning and afternoon), Uzbekistan had a longish workout in the morning. The Uzbek team were in full strength with the arrival of their second best player, Farrukh Dustov. Top Uzbek player Denis Istomin, along with his mother Klavidyas Istomina, who is also his coach, had arrived here with two other players, Sarvar Ikramov and Vaja Uzakov, on January 29. “I am feeling good, the weather is fine and the courts (at the NSCI) are very good”, said the baby-faced Istomin, with his mother looking on indulgingly from a distance. He said he utilised today’s session to get himself attuned to grasscourt tennis as basically he was a claycourt specialist and for this reason, he had made Italy his base. The gangling Dustov said the weather was fine for the visitors as they had come from freezing minus 5°C cold back home. He said it was tough to play against the hosts on grass, as the Uzbeks were still smarting under the 0-5 defeat at the hands of India at Jaipur in 2005, though they had avenged the loss when they trounced India 4-1 back home at Namangan last year. Dustov was a member of that Uzbek team which was ruthlessly demolished by Paes and Co., though he was bitter about the kind of grasscourt provided at Jaipur. “It was not grass, but some kind of a sandy surface,” he claimed. And he did not care whether Paes (who looks a doubtful starter due to the ligament injury he suffered during the Australian Open) would play or not. Meanwhile, Prakash Amritraj and Ashutosh Singh sparred against each other in the morning, along with coach Nandan Bal, while Rohan Bopanna joined the team in the afternoon session. Prakash and Bopanna are expected to shoulder the singles responsibility if Paes does not play, while Bhupathi will spearhead the doubles challenge. Bhupathi was in Cochin (Kerala) yesterday for the launch of the six-city “Dhoom Tennis” programme before flying off to Sri Lanka. He is expected to join the Davis Cup squad in a couple of days.
|
||
|
Women’s Hockey
Jalandhar, February 2 Haryana drew first blood with a field goal by Poonam Rani. In the 14th minute, Monika Dahiya sounded the board to make it 2-0. In the 15th minute, Gwalior scored through Kavita Vidyarthi. Gwalior girls got a penalty corner in the 20th minute but to no avail. In the 35th minute, Haryana consolidated the lead with a field goal by Monika. At half-time, the winners led 3-1. Monika completed her hat-trick when she scored in the 55th minute. Four minutes later, Savita struck to make it 5-1. In the 66th minute Gwalior scored through Lalremruati. In another match, UP led 2-0 against Punjab at half-time. However, Punjab rode on Deepika’s hat-trick to win 3-2.
|
||
|
Sania saves India from relegation
New Delhi, February 2 The Indians have thus manged to fight-off relegation, finishing seventh in the eight-team Group I. India grabbed the lead after Shikha Uberoi defeated Yang Zi-Jun 6-1, 7-6 in the first singles. But Isha Lakhani lost to Zhang Ling in the second rubber to level the scores. Sania then teamed up with Sunitha Rao to beat the Hong Kong pair of Yang Zi-jun and Zhang Ling 7-6, 6-2 in the deciding doubles match. This was the first victory for India in this tournament after earlier losses to Indonesia (1-2), New Zealand (1-2) and Australia (0-3) in Pool A. Hong Kong have now been relegated to Group II. Meanwhile, in other matches, Uzbekistan registered a 2-1 victory over New Zealand to earn promotion to Group II.
— UNI
|
||
|
Sarpreet pedals to victory
Patiala, February 2 After giving a dominating performance yesterday when he enabled the hosts to bag the gold in the 1500m time trial for men, Sarpreet again hogged the limelight today when he won the 1 km time trial event. Sarpreet clocked 1 minute 15.33 seconds to annex the gold. In the 500m time trial for women, Gurpeet Kaur of Panjab University clocked 42.30 seconds to win the title.
|
||
|
Chennai: Captain JP Yadav shone with the bat and ball to lead Delhi Jets to a 75-run victory over Chennai Superstars in the 50-over-a-side Indian Cricket League domestic tournament here on Saturday.
Put in to bat, Delhi Jets were all out for 271 in 45.1 overs and then dismissed the hosts for 196 in 43.4 overs to gain full points. In the Delhi innings, opener SM Dholpure (45 off 58 balls) put on 105 runs for the second wicket with Abhinav Bali. Bali’s 78 (nine fours and six sixes) came off just 44 balls. Yadav chipped in with 35 runs and then became the chief wicket-taker for Delhi, claiming 4-24 runs to be adjudged the Man of the Match. Syed Mohammed scalped four Delhi wickets for 40 runs. In reply, Chennai’s Devendran (40) and Badani (46) were the main contributors. Delhi’s Abhishek Sharma took 2 for 31.
— PTI
|
| 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 | |
Jalandhar, February 2
