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Lanka slump to huge defeat
Ponting second only to Don: CA chief
Shoaib signs MoU with ICL
Kaneria, Afridi face PCB wrath
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Indian Masters
Davis Cup
Paes slams Prakash’s conduct
Bangalore to host IPL opener
Not ready for politics: Azhar
Kolkata Tigers win by 3 wickets
Deepti clinches sprint double
Khalsa College salvage draw
GND varsity softball champs
Winter Games await category-A status
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Sydney, February 8 The Australians racked up a respectable total of 253 for six from their 50 overs then bowled the Sri Lankans out for just 125 in the first meeting between the sides since last year's World Cup final in Barbados. Adam Gilchrist and Michael Clarke both made half-centuries while left-arm seamer Nathan Bracken took career-best figures of 5-47 to win the Man of the Match award. Just five Sri Lankan players made double figures and the only player to score more than 20 was Kumar Sangakkara, who battled to a 42. Both teams struggled to score quickly on a pitch and outfield slowed by a week of torrential rain but the Australians fared much better thanks to Gilchrist and Clarke. Gilchrist got the world champions off to a solid start with 61 off 81 balls while Clarke kept the tail wagging with an unbeaten 77 from 86 deliveries. Matthew Hayden chipped in with a valuable 42 in an opening partnership of 65 with Gilchrist, but the only other batsmen to make a significant score was James Hopes, who blazed 34 off 29 balls. Hayden made up his for absence from the last game with a typically aggressive display, belting five boundaries before holing out to Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene at mid-on off the bowling of Ishara Amersinghe. Ricky Ponting, who has been troubled by back pain in the past fortnight, opened his account with a straight drive four but departed for nine when he edged Chaminda Vaas to Jayawardene at a wide slip. Gilchrist, who is retiring from international cricket after the series, struck three fours and a six in a relatively subdued performance before he was trapped lbw by Chamara Kapugedera. Andrew Symonds (12) and Mike Hussey (10) were both dismissed cheaply as Australia slumped to 190 for 5 in the 42nd over before Clarke and Hopes put on 63 for the sixth wicket. Hopes departed in the last over, leaving Clarke stranded on 77 after a watchful innings that featured just two fours but was built on 45 singles. Sri Lanka made a terrible start to their reply when they lost their two openers Sanath Jayasuriya (7) and Upul Tharanga (10) in successive balls. Sangakkara hit seven fours to give the Sri Lankans some hope of a recovery but when he was trapped lbw by Bracken in the 20th over, the rest of the batting fell away and they were all out in the 32nd over. Australia's win was the first of the triangular tournament after the opening two matches were washed out in Brisbane.
Their next match is against India in Melbourne on Sunday. Scoreboard Australia: Gilchrist lbw b Kapugedera 61 Hayden c Jayawardene
b Amerasinghe 42 Ponting c Jayawardene b Vaas 9 Clarke not out 77 Symonds c Kapugedera b Vaas 12 Hussey c Dilshan
b Amerasinghe 10 Hopes c Dilshan b Malinga 34 Lee not out 0 Extras (lb-2 w-6): 8 Total (6 wickets, 50 overs): 253 Fall of wickets: 1-65 2-88 3-139 4-160 5-190 6-253 Bowling: Vaas 10-1-34-2, Malinga 10-0-55-0, Amerasinghe 10-0-66-2, Muralitharan 10-0-42-0, Kapugedera 10-0-54-1 Sri Lanka: Tharanga c Gilchrist b Bracken 10 Jayasuriya b Lee 7 Sangakkara lbw b Bracken 42 Jayawardene c Gilchrist b Johnson 6 Silva c Gilchrist b Hogg 7 Dilshan c Lee b Bracken 14 Kapugedera c Hayden b Bracken 0 Vaas run out 18 Malinga run out 2 Murali c Symonds b Bracken 11 Amerasinghe not out 0 Extras (ib-3 w-4 nb-1): 8 Total (all out, 31.3 overs): 125 Fall of wickets: 1-18 2-18 3-57 4-74 5-81 6-84 7-93 8-105 9-114 10-125 Bowling: Lee 7-1-34-1, Bracken 8.3-0-47-5, Johnson 5-3-9-1, Hopes 5-0-15-0, Hogg 6-1-17-1.
— Reuters
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Ponting second only to Don: CA chief
Sydney, February 8 ''In my view, he (Ponting) is as good a player as we have ever had, bar
Bradman. And, as a leader, he has a great opportunity to stand up and I look forward to seeing him as someone who has influenced the game more than anyone bar Bradman,'' Sutherland was quoted as saying by The Australian. There were suggestions from former greats that Ponting and Adam Gilchrist should be sacked from the team following the ill-tempered Test against India in Sydney. But Sutherland said CA will continue to support Ponting and his men adding that Australia is the only team in the world with a spirit of cricket code. ''We are absolutely supportive of our team and
players. They play hard but fair. We don't want our footy teams to play any differently. Why would we want our cricket team to play differently? ''When one wins as often as they do and are as successful as they are, you leave yourself open to criticism. Perhaps we expect more of them than we expect of anyone else, which is unfortunate,'' he added. Sutherland continued his defence for the Test captain against the discontent of current and former players for reporting racial abuse in accordance with the International Cricket Council guidelines. He said Ponting's reputation has grown from what it stood in the past. ''I think he has been unfairly tarnished,'' he said. ''His reputation in my mind is stronger than it was previously.
It pays to understand his background. He came out of Launceston, basically at the age of 15 and has been a professional cricketer ever since. ''He is the sort of leader and captain that players absolutely love to play for. His team-mates are in awe of him as a player and as a captain and players would walk out over hot coals,'' he claimed.
— UNI
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Moin Khan, a representative of the ICL here, said he could not comment on Shoaib's intentions but confirmed the fast bowler was made an offer last year when the ICL had started acquiring players for its tournament. Former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul Haq along with Imran Farhat, Taufiq Umar, Abdul Razzaq, Shabbir Ahmed and Azhar Mahmood, are already associated with the ICL. However, Moin Khan confirmed that the ICL was still looking to sign around nine more players from Pakistan and negotiations were continuing with them. ''There is a proposal to field one team of Pakistani players in the next league and we need more players to add to the six we already have with us,'' he said. Akhtar, sources say, could be an addition because he is not happy at being dropped for the home series against Zimbabwe and also with the move to drop him from the central contracts list by the Board. "He is unhappy at repeated statements of the selectors that he needs to prove his match fitness. He is unhappy because he feels he bowled his heart out in India even in sickness," revealed a source close to Akhtar. The Board has appointed Akhtar as captain of one of the five teams taking part in the new Pentangular tournament from February 11 but he said today he had yet not made up his mind to accept the offer. "The Board didn't consult me or talk to me while making me captain. I am still unsure about accepting this assignment," he said.
— Agencies
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Kaneria, Afridi face PCB wrath
Karachi, February 8 Shafqat Naghmi, the Chief Operating Officer of the Pakistan Cricket Board, told PTI that the PCB was examining the statements of both the players regarding their central contracts but personally felt they were against the code of conduct. "If some player has any problems with his categorisation in the new central contracts system he should come and talk to us.," Naghmi said. "But we can't have players voicing their dissent or making controversial statements in the media," he added. While Kaneria who has played 51 Tests said he was frustrated and embarrassed at being bracketed with players who have played lesser cricket than him, Afridi hits the bulls eye by claiming there was a lack of unity and spirit in the national team due to the attitude of some players.
— PTI
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Indian Masters
New Delhi, February 8 Ireland’s Damien McGrane emerged as the leader after the second round with a three-under-par 69. In all 14 Indians were among the 70 golfers who made the cut which was applied at three-over-par 147. Jyoti had a dismal second round of five-over 77 which saw the title contender slip to tied 15th slot with an two-round total of 142. Kapur, who hogged the lime light yesterday with four-under 68, had a disastrous round of six-over 78 and with a total of 146, he went tumbling down to joint 56th place. Worst was to follow as Jeev Milkha Singh failed to make the cut. The famed Indian pro carded his second successive five-over-par 77 round and with a total of 10-over 154 ended at the joint 102nd slot. However, it was left to Atwal and Digvijay to bring some cheers for the home crowd. After being joint 17th yesterday, they again fired identical two-under-par 70 which propelled them to the joint sixth place with an aggregate of four-under 140 each. Unheralded SSP Chowrasia had a steady one-under-par 71 round. He had shot two-under in his first round and with a total of three-under 141 he was lying joint 12th. He had two bogeys and an equal number of birdies but fired an eagle on the eighth to go out with 34 and while coming back he had one bogey to end with 37. Chowrasia was happy to be playing on one of his favourite courses in India as he hopes to improve on his 71 card over the weekend. Jyoti was totally off colour today and came up with a worst performance on his favourite course. He started disastrously, hitting a bogey but soon recovered with a birdie. But disaster struck when he had a triple bogey on the sixth. He hit a birdie on the eight to end with three-over 39 while going out. Gaurav Ghei had the best round among the Indians. He shot five- under 69 and that took his two-round total to 144. He along with Amandeep Johl, who shot one-under 71, were tied 33rd with identical totals. Harmeet Kahlon also had three-over 75 and was joint 45th with a five-over total of 145. Giving Shiv Kapur company at the joint 56th place was another Indian, C Muniyapa, who returned five-over 77 for a two-round total of 146. Ali Sher (77, 70), Randhir S Ghotra (74, 73), Shamim Khan (73, 74) and Rahul Ganpathy (76, 71) also moved into the money-making round.
— UNI
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Davis Cup
New Delhi, February 8 India and Uzbekistan shared the first day’s honours in the Asia-Oceania Group I Davis Cup tie at the R.K. Khanna Stadium here today. India, who were expecting to go 2-0 up on Day One, Bopanna’s display was like a whiff of fresh air. He was very business-like in dealing with Dustov in the opening singles, which started about 80 minutes late due to an overcast sky with the threat of a drizzle and a damp court due to dew. The Indian No. 1 finished off the points of his service games with a flourish, and barring a couple of rallies, the points were reeled off in as little time as possible. Bopanna not only excelled with his serves, but also with his sliced backhands and forehand returns to systematically push Dustov to the precipice. His piercing service games contained seven aces, and some of his returns could not evoke any response from Dustov, who was no mean customer either, though his diffidence in playing on grass was very much evident. Breaks in the sixth game of the first set, fifth and ninth games of the second set and second and sixth games of the third set helped Bopanna record a breezy victory in about one hour and 15 minutes. Bopanna was rarely ever in trouble and the first time he was a point down on his serve was in the fourth game of the second set. The first rally of the match was in the next game while battling for the break point, which the Indian secured with a forehand winner. The only time Bopanna was down a break point was in the third game of the third set when his forehand strayed, but he took the game on deuce, and was not on the defensive ever again. The match was played at such a frenetic pace that when the sixth game went to deuce four times before Bopanna broke Dustov, it looked like an eternity. And Bopanna held serve in the next game with a sliced backhand winner to wrap up the set and the match. Somdev sadly got pitted against a far superior opponent in Istomin in his debut match, and it paid him no dividends in engaging his tall and sprightly opponent in a baseline duel. Though Somdev displayed his skills in executing some amazing double-handed backhand and forehand returns, and a few down-the-line winners, his inability to rush to the net did him in. He fell short in matching the baseline duel with Istomin, who with his better reach, managed to put the ball in different, difficult angles, far beyond the reach of the Indian boy. The Uzbek No. 1, after struggling to come to grips with his serves in the opening set, got better and better as the game wore on while Somdev’s tennis took the path of diminishing returns. The latter was broken in the fourth game of the opening set but he could have turned the tables on his opponent had he converted the two break points in the ninth game, when Istomin was serving for the set. In the second set, Somdev and Istomin traded breaks in the first two games, but the Uzbek broke back in the fifth to regain the advantage. In the third set, the Indian’s game disintegrated as he was broken twice, in the third and fifth games, and hit out the last point to offer the set and the match virtually on a platter to Istomin, who had stretched Lleyton Hewitt in the second round of the Australian Open.
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Paes slams Prakash’s conduct
New Delhi, February 8 ''People can claim whatever they want. He was not fit and it was for everyone to see. He was throwing up all over the place. He went out on Saturday night and had this 'Delhi Belly' and the next day he was ill. It was unprofessional on his part to go out,'' Paes said. Paes fielded debutant Somdev Dev Varman ahead of Prakash, who was down with a stomach ailment. The captain insisted that Prakash was still to recover from the bug and the team could not risk playing an unfit player. Prakash was picked for the doubles match tomorrow which Paes said would give him enough time to get better. ''The team doctor saw him and he was on medication,'' Paes said when asked about Prakash reportedly claiming that he had recovered from the illness and was fit to play.
— UNI
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Bangalore to host IPL opener
Mumbai, February 8 The final of the multi-million dollar league, as well as the two semifinals, would be held in Mumbai — and in all probability at the Cricket Club of India’s Brabourne Stadium, Lalit Modi, IPL commissioner and chairman, said here today. “The final will be on June 1 and the semifinals on May 30 and 31, all in Mumbai. We have the option of hosting these matches either at the CCI or DY Patil stadium (in Navi Mumbai). I guess they will choose CCI,” Modi told reporters. The IPL governing council had a day-long meeting today with the eight franchise owners and representatives of the match staging associations for explaining the entire format of the IPL, the marketing strategy and guidelines, according to Modi. “Seven or eight ICC Elite Panel umpires along with 16 Indian umpires would officiate in the tournament. The match referees are being appointed and we already have the anti-corruption and anti-doping measures in place,” Modi said. Modi reiterated that no national team sponsors would get protection in the IPL as demanded by Cricket Australia. He also said that the “cooling off period of two years for just-retired players” can be waived by the IPL governing council, if it desires, as it has got the green signal for this from the BCCI. “The BCCI has left it to the IPL chairman if the cooling-off period (a player cannot take part in the league for two years after retirement unless he gets a no-objection certificate from his home cricket board) needs to be waived. We have not decided yet on it,” Modi said. “No team sponsors will get protection from IPL. No, no and no,” he emphasised when the question was put to him on the sponsorship row with Cricket Australia. “We don’t have any row. It’s between them (Australian players and Cricket Australia)”,
he added. Cricket Australia wants its global sponsors protected when the Australian players, who have their own personal sponsors, take part in the IPL. “The franchises have informed us about the colours of their team clothing, but not their names. The clothing will have sponsors’ logo similar to the Indian national team’s,” he indicated. Modi said the title sponsors for the event would be decided on February 13, while the date for the players’ auction would be decided tomorrow after another round of meeting with the franchise owners when the various contracted players availability will be disclosed. Modi also said that as a pioneering move, the IPL would sell tickets through Internet and mobile phones. “Ticketpro, a world renowned ticketing agency who did the ticketing for the Bangalore Test (against Pakistan), has been entrusted with the task of selling tickets for IPL matches. It will be done online and through cellphones,” he explained.
— PTI
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Not ready for politics: Azhar
Hyderabad, February 8 “My line is different. It is very difficult to deviate into politics,” the stylish Hyderabadi batsman said, seeking to put at rest the buzz over his foray into politics. The cricketer’s meeting with Telangana Rashtra Samithi
(TRS) President K Chandrasekhar Rao here on Wednesday last had set off speculation over his political plans. Making light of his chance encounter with the TRS leader at the residence of an editor of a local Urdu daily, the 45-year-old stylish batsman said “ When I went to meet Khan Lateef Khan (Editor of “Munsif” daily), Rao happened to be there.” Refuting media reports that he was set to join
TRS, Azhar said “Politics requires lot of responsibilities. I am not ready for it.” Asked whether he would take to politics in future, he said, “I do not think so.” After his career was cut shot due to the match fixing scandal, Azharuddin has been leading a low-profile life, barring occasional public appearances. A fitness buff that he is, Azhar runs a gym in the posh Banjara Hills area here and has plans to open more such Centers in near future. A shy and reticent cricketer, Azhar captained the Indian side for most part of the 1990s. He had the distinction of scoring three consecutive centuries on his debut in England in 1985.
Azhar scored a total of 22 centuries in Test cricket at an average of 45, and 7 in ODIs at an average of 37. An agile fielder, he took a world record 156 catches in ODI cricket. In 1991, he was named Wisden Cricketer of the Year. He won a record 103 ODI matches as the captain of the Indian team. However, his career ended on disgraceful note following allegations of involvement in the match fixing scandal. This led the BCCI to ban him from cricket for life in 2000. The ban was lifted in
2006. Azhar is now planning to start a cricket academy in Noida.
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Kolkata Tigers win by 3 wickets
Chennai, February 8 After winning the toss and electing to bat in a must-win match, the Lions managed to put up a score of 272 for the loss of 7 wickets in 50 overs. The Lions innings was off to a shaky start as openers Chetan Sharma and Manish Sharma were back in the pavilion by the fifth over, with the score on 16. Captain Dinesh Mongia and TP Singh put on 102 runs. Mongia struck 108 off 129 balls with six boundaries and four sixes. TP Singh made a 64-ball 47, while Reetinder Sodhi scored a quickfire 62 off 73 balls. The Tigers did not have a good start as captain Deep Dasgupta was retired hurt in the fourth over. This brought in Abhishek Jhunjhunwala, who along with Parviz Aziz, put on 48 runs. Aziz scored 32 off 26 balls with five boundaries. Rohan Gavaskar scored 67 off 82 balls with three sixes and three boundaries. Abu Nachim scored 45 off 41 balls and was declared the Man of the Match. For the Lions, Rajesh Sharma took three for 31 runs.
— UNI
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Women’s Hockey
Jalandhar, February 8 In the semifinals held today, Railways whipped Mumbai 5-0, while Jharkhand beat Haryana 3-1. In a one-sided match, Railways dominated the proceedings right from the word go. However, they missed two penalty corners in the fifth and 12th minutes. It was in the 22nd minute that they took the lead through a penalty-corner conversion by skipper Surinder Kaur. At half-time, the winners led 1-0. In the second half, Jyoti converted a penalty corner in the 37th minute to make it 2-0. In the 42nd minute, Jasjeet Kaur scored a field goal (3-0). Simmerjit (52nd) and Surinder Kaur (64th) rounded off the tally (5-0). Tomorrow, Mumbai will face Haryana in the third-place playoff (12.30 pm), which will be followed by the final between Railways and Jharkhand (2.30 pm).
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Deepti clinches sprint double
Kila Raipur (Ludhiana), February 8 Equally striking were the images of the lancers precisely picking the pegs and display of expertise in martial arts by the
nihangs. Performance by Maghar Singh, 45-year-old Nihang, riding two horses simultaneously, received massive response from the crowd. The preliminary rounds today witnessed participants from 64 chariot. The finals will be held on the final day. The list of those who qualified for the second leg of the bullock cart race in the first round include: Harjinder Singh, Naib Singh Kalsian, Lakhvir Singh Dhaul Khurd, Chinu Jalaldival, Sunny Majri, Preetam Singh Kheri, Jhanda Singh, Baljinder Singh, Avtar Singh Aasinkalan, Harpreet Singh, Amar Singh Sandor, Harman Singh, Sukhi, Tejvir Singh, Bela Singh Lang, Pradhan Harnek Singh Jandiali Kalan, Ranjit Singh Maherna, Baljinder Singh, Gurpreet Singh Akbarpur, Prabhjot Singh Chapar, Balwinder Singh, Baljinder Singh, A.P.Kumkalan and Harpreet Singh Jandiali. The qualifiers also included Anmolpreet Mimsa, Gurdip Singh, Ranjit Singh Aasikalan, Naranjan Singh Dhanno, Sham Sundar Chapra, Manjit Singh Lohgarh, Darshan Singh and Sarbjit Singh. The sports extravaganza was inaugurated by two-time Indian Olympic hockey captain Pargat Singh, who is also Director, Sports, Punjab. Deepti of Ludhiana won a double when she romped home victorious in two sprint events. In 100 m, she clocked 12.9 seconds. In 400 m, she clocked 65.4 seconds. Rajbir Kaur from Sangrur occupied the second spot with 65.5 seconds. The fastest boy in the under-19 section was Amandeep Singh of Ludhiana who clocked 11.45 seconds in the 100 m. The 400-m title in the same group went to Inderjeet Singh of Ludhiana with a timing of 51.61 seconds. He upset school national champion, Arun Singh of UP, who clocked 51.7 seconds. In horse race, Darbara Singh finished first, defeating the nearest rival by one second. Basketball, which was introduced in the festival last year, saw the cagers from Ludhiana Academy brush aside Mansa district 56-15. The Mansa team was no match for the Punjab champions who had chalked up a 28-9 lead at half time. Gagandeep Singh logged 20 points with Amritpal scoring 18 points. In another match Gurdaspur defeated Muktsar 70-51. Women Jalandhar Akademy cagers defeated Ropar 42-26 after leading 26-14 at the break. Jalandhar district team defeated Kapurthala 44-21 after leading 32-14 at half time.
Kile Raipur under 19 boys struck twice to defeat Malwa Khalsa School,
Ludhiana, 2-1.
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Khalsa College salvage draw
New Delhi, February 8 Bhopal college’s Mohit Das scored the first hat-trick of the tournament but his efforts did not yield the desired result as Khalsa College fought back to finish the day with a point. Mohit scored in the 18th, 34th and 56th minutes, while for Khalsa College the scorers were Gurbaj Singh (43rd), Nirmal Singh (53rd) and Jitender Singh (67th).
— UNI
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GND varsity softball champs
Amritsar, February 8 Osmania University, Hyderabad, and Panjab University, Chandigarh, were the runners-up in men’s and women’s sections, respectively. Delhi University finished third in both sections.
The championship concluded at the university sports complex here today.
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Winter Games await category-A status
Mandi, February 8 Incidentally, Auli in Uttarakhand will host the 2009 South Asian Winter Games, as decided by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA). Sources in the federation told The Tribune that the Winter Games were included as category-C games in 1998 by the central government, but the WFI had subsequently done very little to push the games into category A. Though the Jammu and Kashmir government has included the games as priority games and allotted job quota to winter sportspersons in the state, Uttarakand and Himachal still lag behind. Rupesh Kanwal, secretary, HP Winter Games Association, said winter sporterspersons had won laurels at national and international levels despite lack of facilities. However, they were not being considered for the three per cent job quota by the government, he added. WFI’s president SS Pangti said, “It was thanks to the federation’s efforts that the Winter Games were considered as category-C games in 1998. We are taking up the matter with the central government to include the games in category A and allot job quotas to winter sportspersons. But the main hitch is that the games are played only in four
states”.
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Women’s Hockey
Lahore, February 8