The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Ishant is dangerous bowler: Ponting

Melbourne, February 10
Australian captain Ricky Ponting conceded today that his tormentor Ishant Sharma is a "dangerous bowler" but stopped short of rating the Indian attack as the best he has seen in home conditions in the recent past.

"Ishant has done well in the latter half of this tour so far. He is a dangerous bowler," conceded a sombre Ponting.

"(S) Sreesanth has also looked good but it's too early to say this is the best attack seen in Australian conditions for sometime now as England was here last year," he said.

The young Indian attack, led by Sharma, booked Australia out for 159 in 43.1 overs after Ponting had chosen to bat first at the Melbourne Cricket Ground today. The Aussie skipper was suitably impressed.

"He is different in the sense that he hits the deck hard and gets some inconsistent bounce. I don't know whether it's because he changes his action.

"He looks dangerous and would be even more to the left-handers. Even to the right-handers, the kind of in-swing he manages is a bit unusual," Ponting said.

Ponting said that in his first two overs, Matthew Hayden seemed to have got on top of the young bowler.

"Matty (Hayden) was on top of him. He began with wides and no balls and we sensed he was not at his best. But he recovered and his overall figures were good."

A shy-looking Ishant said that his plan to Ponting has been to bowl on the fourth stump.

"I tried to follow my plan against the Australian batsmen. For Ponting, it was to bowl to him on the fourth stump."

He said that when he went for 18 runs in his second over, skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni gave him some valuable advice.

"When I went for 18 runs, Dhoni came to me and asked me to stick to my plans and not try something which was alien to me. It calmed me down and I began bowling to my strength," the Delhi speedster said.

Sharma, who has taken a heavy workload on this tour, including bowling full throttle at the nets, admitted he was feeling a bit tired at the end of the game.

"I am feeling a bit tired now, my stomach is paining. But having bowled long spells at Adelaide, I think my stamina is improving.

"I will continue to bowl properly at nets as it's the practice which makes you a better bowler," Ishant added.

Meanwhile, Ponting rubbished his batsmen for the poor display they put out in the middle.

"We were not good enough and were very poor in batting. We didn't have enough runs. We tried to stick to our task and had half a chance of winning and that's the only positive we have from the game.

"Their seamers bowled so well that Harbhajan could bowl his first six overs for six runs or something like that," he said. — PTI

	Lee optimistic of participation in IPL Melbourne, February 10 Pace spearhead Brett Lee is optimistic that Cricket Australia (CA) and Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) would soon resolve the sponsorship feud, paving way for the Kangaroos to play in the lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL). ''I'm sure it's all going to work out and people will be very happy with the outcome,'' Lee said while speaking to local media today. ''We will listen closely to what CA and the ACA are saying.'' IPL is scheduled to start it's inaugural season from April 18 and Australia, during the same time, will visit Pakistan if CA is satisfied with the security arrangements. But Lee was excited to be a part of IPL and said it would be a great opportunity to rub shoulders with world class players in the Twenty20 league. ''If the opportunity comes up then it will be great, the IPL proposes a brilliant opportunity for Australian and other world cricketers to go out there and play in the Twenty20 format. ''It offers great opportunity, it offers fantastic different venues to play at under different sides, different clubs,'' he said. — UNI
	CA censors Symonds’ column Melbourne, February 10 Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds has expressed his disappointment at Cricket Australia's (CA) decision to censor his newspaper column about the board's sponsorship restrictions regarding the lucrative Indian Premier League. ''Right now a lot of the boys in the Australian side are excited about maybe taking part in the Indian Twenty20 series called the IPL in April,'' Symonds said. ''But we can't quite work out what's going on with the chiefs at Cricket Australia, who seem to be trying to run interference by putting up a heap of red tape.'' ''To be brutally honest, as players we just can't understand the stance they've taken. We're all keen to have a hit if the tour of Pakistan gets called off, but Cricket Australia have played what looks like a bit of a trick shot,'' he added. According to CA rules, all players writing newspaper columns must have their material read and approved by CA Media Director Peter Young who defended the board's decision. ''There are inaccuracies in the column Andrew does not understand the full story,'' Young said. ''I cannot provide approval for publication. He needs to be briefed on the situation. There will be a player briefing next week.'' — UNI
	Oly qualifier schedule: India to play Russia in opener New Delhi, February 10 India will meet Russia in their opening league fixture in the men's Olympic qualifying tournament to be held in Santiago, Chile, from March 1 to 9, according to the revised schedule released today. Russia replace Bangladesh who withdrew from the tournament for reasons yet to be specified. Austria, Chile, Great Britain and Mexico complete the six-team line-up from which the tournament winner will qualify for the Bejing Olympics to be held in August this year. Currently the Indian team is undergoing a training-cum-competition programme in Perth, Australia. So far they have played four practice matches and won three of them. India won two games against local West Australian side Thundersticks, 6-1 and 3-0 and lost against the same opponents 4-2. Besides, India defeated China 3-1 in another game. Revised Olympic qualifiers schedule in Chile March 1: Great Britain vs Mexico, India vs Russia, Chile vs Austria. March 2: Great Britain vs Russia, India vs Austria, Chile vs Mexico March 3: Rest Day March 4: India vs Mexico, Austria vs Russia, Chile vs Great Britain March 5: Rest Day March 6: India vs Great Britain, Austria vs Mexico, Chile vs Russia March 7: Rest day. March 8: Great Britain vs Austria, Russia vs Mexico, India vs Chile March 9: 5th-6th positions match, 3rd-4th positions match, Final. — PTI
	Beckham will win 100th cap: Capello London, February 10 England manager Fabio Capello today assured David Beckham that he will win his coveted 100th cap if he gets fit playing for Los Angeles Galaxy. The former England skipper was left out of Capello's first squad for the friendly international against Switzerland last week on the grounds that he was not match fit, having not been involved in a competitive game since November. The 32-year-old has returned to pre-season training with the Galaxy but the Major League Soccer season does not kick off until March 29, three days after England's friendly against France in Paris. However, Capello insists the five pre-season friendlies that the Galaxy have lined up may be enough for Beckham to feature at the Stade de France. "Surely he will have played friendly matches and those will be important. If he is fit and ready to play then he will be part of my team," said Capello. Meanwhile, Capello said he wanted the England team to develop the same sort of "fighting" attitude as Wayne Rooney. Capello said, "I have watched three or four of Manchester United's matches recently and he was always like that. "This is the spirit I want the team to pick up from him -- always fighting and having this sort of spirit is something I want him to transmit to the rest of the team. This attitude is very important." — AFP
	JCT blank Air India Anil Datt Ludhiana, February 10 Last year's runner-up JCT warded off a stiff resistance from Air India to romp home winners 2-0 in the 16th round match of the ONGC-I Football League played at Guru Nanak Stadium, here today. With this win, JCT secured three points to take their tally to 29 and are tied with Churchill Bros of Goa at second place with Dempo SC, Goa, being at the top of the standings. Air India, with 17 points, remained at sixth slot. JCT, who desperately needed a victory today to improve their standing at points table, looked a pale shadow of themselves in the initial moments of the encounter as mis-passes and poor cohesion marred most of their moves. JCT's star strikers, Eduardo Da Silva and Sunil Chhetri's valiant attempts midway through the first session went abegging, much to the relief of Air India goalkeeper Arnab Das Sharma. Nothing seemed to go right for Air India also as they forced their way into the rival's citadel on number of occasions but failed to make an impression. After a barren first half, JCT started weaving good moves and threatened Air India territory repeatedly. In the 52nd minute, Eduardo was obstructed at the top of striking circle which resulted in a free kick. Edurado's powerful angular kick sailed into the net to put his side into the lead. In the 65th minute, Daljit Singh, after dodging past two players, sent a sizzler from well outside the box which caught Air India custodian by surprise and resulted in the second goal. They could have increased the lead immediately had Parveen Kumar been able to latch on to the ball which slipped through Arban's hands. With few minutes to go for the long whistle, Air India pressed hard to reduce the margin but found the JCT defence impregnable. JCT skipper Julius Akpele was named the man of the match.
	ICL 50s Chennai Superstars pip Delhi Jets, annex title Chennai, February 10 In a humdinger of a contest, Chennai Superstars defeated Delhi Jets with four balls to spare in a tense final to annexe the title in the inaugural edition of ICL 50s here today. This is the second straight tile for the Chennai team after it bagged the ICL twenty-20s. Put in to bat, Delhi Jets, despite half century by Monish Mishra (64) and polished knocks by J P Yadav (45) and Abbas Ali (45), were all out for 240 in 48.3 overs. Medium Pacer Tamil Kumaran claimed five wickets to restrict Delhi innings. Chasing a stiff target, Chennai team were in a spot of bother reeling at 33 for three in eight overs. But lefthander Hemang Badani (58) and J Harish (59) steadied the innings. V Devendran struck a match-winning 43 to guide the team to overhaul the total. Chennai team suffered yet another mid-innings slump and were staring down the barrel at 208 for nine in 46 overs. But Tamil Kumaran struck a 21-ball 38 (2x6. 4x4) to fashion Chennai's win. Chennai successfully chased the target with four balls to spare scoring 242 for 9 in 49.2 overs. Tamil Kumaran was declared man of the match for his all round effort and Delhi Skipper J P Yadav was declared Player of the Tournament for his all round performance scoring 387 runs, bagging eight wickets and taking five catches. Brief Scores: Delhi Jets 240 in 48.3 overs (Monish Mishra 64, J P Yadav 45, Abbas Ali 45, Tamil Kumaran five for 38, Thiru Kumaran two for 25) lost to Chennai Superstars 242 for 9 in 49.2 overs (Hemang Badani 58, J Hariesh 59, V Devendran 43, Shalabh Srivastava three for 38). — UNI
	Naib Singh crowned champion Sanjeev Singh Bariana Tribune News Service Kila Raipur (Ludhiana), February 10 Clouds of dust and an enthusiastic crowd formed a perfect background for the grand finale to the bullock cart race on the concluding day of the Haywards 5000 Kila Raipur Sports festival here today. Naib Singh from Kalsian village walked away with the first prize in the most coveted race of the festival. Baljinder Singh from Dehlon was second while the third place was bagged by Balwinder Singh from Kulewal. A perfect sunny day facilitated a crowd of hundreds of visitors from the adjoining villages who spilled over from the stands into the stadium. Organisers had a tough time requesting the audience to clear the stadium, probably the biggest crowd during the past several years. The race of the veterans and the physically challenged, dances, tractor and mule race, besides a number of other purely rural events added a flavour of vigour of land to the occasion. A participant bent a two cm thick iron rod with his stomach and another one got his body through a ring which hardly allowed his head to cross. The Nihang Singhs gave another scintillating demonstration of martial arts like breaking a coconut on the head of a fellow by a blindfolded Nihang warrior. Maghar Singh, who had ridden on two horses yesterday, took his clan of young warriors on a round of the track to repeated applause from a big gathering which included the Union Minister of State for Industries Ashwini Kumar. The minister also announced a grant of Rs 5 lakh to the Grewal Sports Association. Jasbir Singh Khangura, the MLA of Kila Raipur, announced a grant of Rs 2.21 lakh. Ajay Kumar of the BSF emerged the fastest man of the meet and also clinched a sprint double by winning the 100 and 200 metres races. Ghamanda Ram of Rajasthan, India’s 800 metres representative in the Commonwealth Games, completed a grand double when he clinched the 800-metre title. Among girls the fastest was Navdeep Kaur of Jalandhar when she won the 100 metre sprint. Atinder singh from Chandigarh won the shot put for men event. Gurpreet Singh from Hoshiarpur was second while the third place was bagged by Harminderpal Singh from Chandigarh. Hardeep Kaur from Ludhiana won the women’s shot put contest while the second and third places were bagged by Patwant Kaur from Patiala and Rupinder Kaur from Amritsar, respectively. Khalsa College Ludhiana Beat kairon Wing (1-0) to win the girls hockey final. Sukhwinder Singh from Kilaraipur won the tricycle contest while Rampal and Kala from Shankar, were second and third, respectively. Navpreet Kaur from Patiala won the high jump(women) contest while Simarjit Kaur and Ramandip Kaur both from Ludhiana were second and third. Anroop B.P.K from BSF, Arminder Singh from Jalandhar and Pawan Parkash from the Army were the winners in the high jump (men) contest. Harpreet Kaur from Ludhiana won the 400 m (women) contest while second and third places were bagged by Prinka Singh from Patiala and Iqbal Kaur from Hoshiarpur. Mandeep Kaur from Jalandhar won the 100 m (women) contest. Navpreet Kaur and Deepti were second and third, respectively.Bawa Singh (Kila Raipur) was adjudged the best hockey player. Jyoti (Panjgrahian) won the tractor race Kamalpreet (Mahalkalan) was second and Ravinder Singh (Toosey) was third. Punjab Police beat Grewal Hockey Club, Kila Raipur, 5-1 in the hockey final for Bhagwant Memorial Gold Cup.