 |
|
|
Charlesworth to work with senior team
Dhoni has no equal, says Pathan
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
India 2nd in Test
ranking
Chennai Superstars record 56-run win
Deodhar Trophy
Asia Cup (June 24 to July 6)
My umpiring won’t change much: Hair
IOC ground IA, lift crown
Force India bank on aero parts, Fisichella
Anand looks to bounce back
Asian Olympic Qualifiers
Anand loses to Morozevich
Russia's Maria Sharapova celebrates winning a point against Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova during their quarterfinals match at the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells on Wednesday. Sharapova won 7-6, 6-1. — Reuters photo
Barreto arrested, granted bail
|
|
Charlesworth to work with senior team
New Delhi, March 20 After four days of brainstorming meetings, the suspense over the Aussie great’s association with India ended as the hockey fraternity in the country was engaged in speculation as to where the sport was heading. The day started with the IHF top bosses holding several rounds of meetings with the Sports Ministry officials which resulted in the finalisation of Charlesworth’s contract and nature of his operation. According to a reliable source in the Sports Ministry, Charlesworth’s contract had been finalised and now he would be given a role in the senior men’s team. “The contract has been finalised. He (Charlesworth) will work as the Technical Advisor and expert coach with teams at all levels,” the source said. Earlier in the week, an angry Charlesworth had declined to work in India after knowing that the Ministry and the IHF unilaterally had decided to keep him away from the senior men’s team and give him the charge of the junior sides. “No, I have not come here to do that,” he had said. After this episode, pressure mounted on the IHF from various quarters, including the International Hockey Federation (FIH), former Olympians and office-bearers, and fresh discussions were held to accommodate the Australian with a bigger role. The understanding to allow Charlesworth work with the senior team would now force IHF to find a middle path where both the Australian and coach Joaquim Carvalho can work together. At yesterday’s meeting, a majority of office-bearers wanted Carvalho sacked and Charlesworth as his replacement. However, the I.H.F chief K P S Gill was not in a mood to show Carvalho the exit door because of India’s four-nation assignment in Australia next month. “A majority wanted that Charlesworth be given charge of the team. But the members were not able to understand why Gill was defending the coach. He was adamantly defending Carvalho,” a source told PTI on condition of annonimity. Carvalho blamed India’s defeat in Chile on “poor umpiring,” but the office-bearers rejected it as a “silly excuse.” “Instead of admitting that we played badly and lost, he was giving such strange excuses,” the source said. The issue of why players like Arjun Halappa and Sandeep Singh were not included in the Indian team for the Chile assignment also came up for discussion. Besides, objections were raised as to why the selection committee was kept out of the loop while picking the final squad. Interestingly, the source added that “the IHF chief had become immune to the barrage of criticism he was facing from the media and is not bothered about them.” — PTI
|
|
Dhoni was speaking his mind: BCCI
Mumbai, March 20 "Probably he is speaking his mind, his sentiments as a captain of the Indian team," BCCI Chief Administrative Officer Prof Ratnakar Shetty said after Dhoni was quoted by a website yesterday stating that he was clear in his mind about the players he wanted in the side, which left out Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly from the one-day team. Shetty said he did not believe everything attributed to Dhoni was totally true and there must have been a difference in what he said and its interpretation by the media. "I don't believe in what appears in the media totally because what Dhoni may have said and what was interpreted must have had a large difference," he said. He also took a jibe on all those critical of the selection of youngsters especially after a good outing by the senior players in the test series Down Under. "When the one-day team was announced everybody in India and including some senior cricketers had commented severely on the compositions of the team. "Now the performance is there for everybody to see, naturally so he feels... probably in his mind, that there is a message which he sends also because if he had not done well, he would have been crucified by the media for whatever decision taken," Shetty added. Shetty said there would not be any case of hostility towards the one-day skipper by the senior players and said there were countries wherein there are two teams playing in the Tests and in the one-day squads. "I don't think it will create bad blood because this is not something which is new. In other countries, there are people who are playing in the Tests and one-day (sides) separately and it has never created a problem. They are all professional cricketers and know their role well and what is expected from them when playing for India," he said. On whether there would be a selection policy from the Board to give the captains a free hand in the selection process, he said the selection is done taking the captain's view into account "after all he is good to lead the team and whether the performance good or bad, he will be taking the responsibility" and said there was no laid down format or a policy in this regard. He said there are youngsters pushing the more experienced players for the top spots and are staking claim for the one-day format. "In test cricket there are lot of seniors playing, there are lot of youngsters after the T20 World Cup who have pushed in to reckoning and naturally are staking claim for the one day team." — PTI
|
|
|
Dhoni has no equal, says Pathan
Bhopal, March 20 ''Skipper M S Dhoni has no equal when it comes to understanding players and boosting morale. During the tri-series Down Under, I was handed the ball in the final over of a key match against the kangaroos. He was an excellent captain the Twenty20 Cricket World Cup earlier,'' he said. Pathan was here for a Tata Indicom prize-distribution programme. When pointed out that his batting and bowling had not been up to the mark for a period, Pathan said that all player encounter lean patches. ''Bowling is my first love and I thank God that I am back in form. Regarding sledging, however, much tongues lash it is performance that ultimately matters,'' he added. Refusing to comment on pacer Sreesanth's remark that cricketers were not after Bollywood actresses but things were the other way round, Pathan quipped that no actress was behind him but added that Juhi Chawla was his favourite. — UNI
|
|
|
India 2nd in Test
ranking
Dubai, March 20 Meanwhile, South Africa, who are due to visit India for a three-Test series later this month, are at the fourth place with 109 points. The Proteas have the same number of points as Sri Lanka but lag behind them when points are calculated beyond the decimal point. The main tussle going on at present is between the teams ranked from second to fifth with just four ratings points separating India, South Africa, Sri Lanka and England. Sri Lanka will drop to fifth on the table if it loses the series against the West Indies, which gets underway in Guyana on March 22. If Mahela Jayawardena's team loses the two-match series, they will fall two places from third to fifth, below South Africa and England, even if England lose the third and final Test in New Zealand, which starts on Saturday. — UNI |
|
|
Chennai Superstars record 56-run win
Chandigarh, March 20 Chasing a stiff target of 181 runs in 20 overs, Giants' were off to a flying start as their openers Awishka Gunawardne and Munish Mishra put on 53 runs in five overs. Mishra was in destructive mood as he first smashed three boundaries and a six off Vignesh's bowling in the second over and later blasted Ian Harvey for two boundaries in the fourth over. Gunawardne (17) departed after contributing 17 as Sathish took a stunning catch off the bowling of Ian Harvey in the sixth over. Kumaran jolted Giants, picking up two wickets in the next over to make it 64 for 3. Atapattu (0) fell next as he gave a simple catch to Ian Harvey while S Abbass Ali was trapped lbw off the very next ball. Syed Mohammed picked up the crucial wicket of Mishra (38) in the next over as Mishra fell trying a sweep shot and giving a simple catch to Sathish at midwicket. Bali and Pothas took the score to 87 before Syed Mohammed picked up the wicket of Bali (19) in the 12th over to further dent Giants' hopes. Yadav then joined Pothas and he took no time to settle as he first smashed Mohammed for a four and a six in the 14th over and then pulled hit a four off Badani in the next over. But with Giants needing 76 runs off 36 balls, Pothas fell in the 15th over trying to hit Badani over long off as Shabbir Ahmed took the catch. Kumaran picked up his third wicket when Yadav (19) gave a simple catch to Arnold in the 16th over with Giants' scorecard reading 114 for 7. Harvey picked the eighth wicket as Sathish took a fine catch of Sudhinara (3) and when Bond departed on the first ball, it meant that Giants needed 59 runs from 18 balls with one wicket remaining. Harvey picked up the last wicket of Giants' innings as he snapped up Ali Murtaza in the penultimate over to bundle out Delhi Giants at 124 and thereby handing Superstars a win by 56 runs. Earlier, Giants skipper' Marvan Atapattu won the toss and elected to field first. Superstars were off to a bad start as they lost opener. Brief scores: Chennai Superstars: 180 for 5 (R Arnold 49, R Satish 62, M Bevan 22 n.o., S Sarvanan 16 n.o., S Srivastava 2-27, T P Sudhindra 1-32, A Murtaza 1-27, A Bali 1-9). Delhi Giants: 124 all out in 18.4 overs (Manish Mishra 38, A Bali 19, J P Yadav 19, D Gunawardene 17, Ian Harvey 4-24, T Kumaran 3-12, Syed Mohammad 2-24, H Badani 1-19).
|
|
|
Deodhar Trophy
Visakhapatnam, March 20 North, chasing a target of 242 folded up for 121 in 35.2 overs with West's medium pacers Munaf Patel (2-16), Ajit Agarkar (2-31) and Abhishek Nayar (2-18) and left armer Iqbal Abdulla (2-17) put the breaks on their batting. Their captain, India opener Virender Sehwag also fell cheaply for 18 to another medium pacer Trivedi. Sehwag batted low down in the order at no 5. Only Rajat Bhatia (35 with four fours off 58 balls) and the World Cup winning India Under-19 captain Virat Kohli (22) managed to reach double figures with Amit Mishra, the spinner, who made 11. Earlier, batting first, West Zone made 241 runs off 48.5 overs, thanks to captain Wasim Jaffar's 64 off 92 balls with seven fours and the top scorer and team India star, Rohit Sharma's 78 off 97 balls with the help of nine fours and two sixes. West recovered after both the openers Yusuf Pathan (5) and Ajinkya Rane (9) fell cheaply. Virendra Sehwag picked up four wickets for 17 runs off 2.5 overs while medium pacer Manpreet Gony bagged an equal number conceding 35 runs during his quota of 10 overs. Brief scores: West Zone 241 in 48.5 overs (Wasim Jaffar 64, Rohit Sharma 78, V Sehwag 4-17, Manpreet Gony 4-35) b North Zone 121 in 35.2 overs( Virat Kohli 22, Rajat Bhatia 35). — UNI
|
|
|
Asia Cup
(June 24 to July 6)
Lahore, March 20 The arch rivals have been pooled with minnows Hong Kong in Group B, while defending champions Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and United Arab Emirates form the other pool for the ninth edition of the
continental tournament, the Asian Cricket Council announced today. Despite Australia postponing its scheduled tour of Pakistan citing security concerns,
all teams have confirmed their availability for the Asia Cup, to be held from June 24
to July 6. "All the participating nations have confirmed their participation and we hope to have a safe and highly competitive Asia Cup in three months' time," ACC chief executive Ashraful Huq told reporters at the Gadaffi Stadium here. The hosts Sri Lanka won the eighth edition in 2004 but the tournament could not be held as per schedule in 2006 due to the hectic international schedule. Huq denied the tournament was ever in doubt after the Aussies refused to tour. "Australians are unaware of our culture and they don't have an idea that no sporting activity has ever been hurt in Asia.
All the teams are going to take part barring any major disaster," he said. The three sides in each group play each other once, with the top two teams from each group qualifying for the second phase, where they will again play each other once. The top two teams will contest the final. Karachi will host 10 of the 13 matches, while Lahore will host three and all matches will be day-night affairs, starting late in the afternoon, Huq said. The first Asia Cup was held in 1984. India have won the event four times, while Sri Lanka have lifted the Cup three times and Pakistan once. — PTI |
|
My umpiring won’t change much: Hair
Sydney, March 20 Hair said he spent "stressful" days since his dumping from the panel in November 2006. "Well it caused me a lot of stress, I suppose it caused a lot of people some stress along the way. The laws now have been changed to take those decisions out of the hands of the umpires and I fully support the way that that's going to happen in future. "So, it's time to move on," Hair told Sydney radio 2KY, the Daily Telegraph reported. Hair said his new innings would focus on better communication on field. "Every day in life you like to pick up something and move forward, so I won't say my whole attitude to umpiring has changed but I think I have picked up a few things that are going to be very helpful to me in the future. "Probably just having a broader understanding of what everybody else is thinking and the old communication issue of making sure that what you say and what you want is understood by the other people," Hair said. The controversial Australian, who officiated in ICC Associate matches after being ousted from the elite panel, said he would look to get more involved in on-field proceedings after resuming his job. "I've always been a little bit stand-offish in that I've always preferred to let them play the game themselves and only get involved when things go overboard but maybe there's a case to be made for a little bit more work in that area," Hair said. The Australian's re-reinstatement evoked sharp criticism from Pakistan cricket fraternity but Hair said he was not concerned with others' views and wants to concentrate on his job only. "No I've got no comment on anyone else's reaction really. I'm just going to look after my own patch and go out there and umpire the matches that I'm appointed to and do that to the best of my ability which is what I've always done," he said. Hair was removed from the ICC's Elite panel after The Oval Test fiasco, when Pakistan became the first team to forfeit a Test. Pakistan had refused to return to the field in protest after being penalised for alleged ball-tampering and England being awarded five extra runs. PCB officials have made it clear that they do not want Hair to officiate any international match, involving their country. However the 55-year-old Hair said he had no problems if he is asked to officiate in Pakistan matches. "Part of my contract is that I'm available now to umpire Test matches and one-day internationals. Now whether that (umpiring in Pakistan) is going to happen I think you'll need to ask the people who make the appointments," he said. —
PTI |
|
PCB responsible for reinstatement: Rameez
Lahore, March 20 ''The decision of Hair's recall shows the PCB's lack of presence at international forums,'' Raja was quoted as saying by The Daily Times. The ICC reinstated the 55-year-old Hair in the elite panel of umpires after it's board meeting in Dubai on March 17-18. He will now be allowed to officiate in Tests and one-day internationals involving full-member nations. ''It is surprising that Hair was reinstated without being tried and tested. It shows that the international community is ready to walk over Pakistan whenever they want,'' he added. Hair was removed from the elite panel of umpires after his charges of ball-tampering against the Pakistan team, at the Oval Test in August 2006, were proved false. Meanwhile, PCB chairman Nasim Ashraf has dismissed Raja's claims and said the board did everything it could on the issue. ''We have made our views clear to the ICC on Hair. The entire matter was thoroughly discussed at the meeting and this is a wrong impression that the PCB was weak on this issue,'' he said. — UNI |
|
IOC ground IA, lift crown
Ludhiana, March 20 After enjoying 3-1 lead, IOC squandered the advantage as Indian Airlines bounced back into the game to hold their opponents 3-3 and finally the cliff-hanger was resolved through the golden-goal rule. IOC drew first blood when Rajpal Singh scored a fine field goal in the 16th minute. Ten minutes later, they enhanced the lead through a penalty corner conversion by Prabhjot Singh. Undeterred, Indian Airlines continued playing attacking hockey which yielded result in the 28th minute when full back, Sandeep Singh successfully converted a penalty corner to reduce the margin 2-1. However, immediately into the second session, IOC skipper, Deepak Thakur was on the target that consolidated the lead 3-1. Midway through the second half, Indian Airlines narrowed down the margin through a field goal scored by Sameer Dad while Sandeep Singh sounded the board in 58th minute to level the score three-all. As the remaining period failed to produce any result, the golden goal rule was applied during which the all-important goal came off Deepak Thakur's stick in the third minute that sealed Indian Airlines' fate 4-3. Indian Oil Corporation pocketed a cash prize of Rs 51,000 besides a trophy while Indian Airlines received a cash prize of Rs 31,000 in addition to the runners-up trophy.
|
|
Force India bank on aero parts, Fisichella
Sepang (Malaysia), March 20 Drivers, who struggled at Melbourne's sun-baked Albert Park last Sunday, would find themselves in even more extreme conditions here and though that remains a worry, new aero developments and Fisichella's vast experience, including his 2006 win here So, though neither he nor his younger German teammate Adrian Sutil could finish the race in Melbourne, Fisichella oozed confidence of making amends here. "As we went out very early in Australia, we could not demonstrate how much closer we now are relative to the other teams. The VJM01 feels more consistent and stable, and now we have some new aero parts coming for this race. I think we can make another step forward," Fisichella said. "I have good memories of the race here too. I won in 2006 with Renault and, although we will not be in that position now, I do think we should be able to put in a good performance," said the Italian. "My aim is the same as before -- I want to take the team into second qualifying for the first time, and then finish the race. As Australia showed, anything can happen and if we are there, then we have a good chance of picking up a good result," he added. Sutil said conditions would be tough and the track was bumpy too but he was still looking forward to get into the second qualifying session. "I am really disappointed that I did not get into second qualifying and then could not finish the race in Australia, as I think we could have finished very high up with the way the race went. But you just have to forget that now and look forward to the next event. Q2 is for sure my aim, and I really think we could make it this time," Sutil said. Team owner Vijay Mallya too took a glass-half-full view of the Melbourne race and said the double retirement notwithstanding, the team derived lot of positives from the season opener. "The Australian Grand Prix gave us much encouragement. With strong performances from both drivers over the weekend we showed an improvement over this time last year. It was disappointing not to get to second qualifying and then to have the double retirement, but even so, the morale is high," he said. Team principal Colin Kolles echoed his view and said, "I was very pleased with Australia despite the ultimate race result, and I think we can continue the trend in Malaysia this weekend. "Giancarlo has won at the track before and now Adrian has previous experience of the circuit after his first Malaysian race in 2007. The drivers complement each other very well and we seem to be getting the most out of the car. The rest of the field looks strong, but I think we can be there fighting too," he said. Chief technical officer Mike Gascoyne said the team would stick to its target of making the cut for the second qualifying session and take it from there. — PTI
|
|
Nice (France), March 20 After a racking start that gave him victories with black pieces against Vladimir Kramnik of Russia and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov of Azerbaijan, the Indian ace slipped a bit in the standing list when he lost to Hungarian Leko in the fourth round but the rest day after that should help Anand recover. With seven rounds still to come in the event that has one blindfold and one rapid game in each round, Levon Aronian of Armenia, Vassily Ivanchuk of Ukraine and former world champion Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria share the lead with 5 points each in the combined standings and Anand is now sole fourth on 4 points. In the rapid section, Aronian is at the top with 3 points while Anand shares the joint second spot in this section on 2.5 points along with Topalov, Leko, and Ivanchuk. It's a four-way lead in the blindfold and Ivanchuk, Carlsen, Topalov and Vladimir Kramnik of Russia are sitting pretty at the top on 2.5 points each. With 2 points from four games here, Anand stands joint fifth. — PTI
|
|
Asian Olympic Qualifiers
New Delhi, March 20 The trio of Vijender (75kg), Jitender Kumar (51kg) and Manoj Kumar (64kg) sailed past their respective opponents to take the total number of Indians in the semis to six. While Vijender thrashed Mongolian Nandin Munguntsooi 23-10, Jitender got the better of Chinese Gao Linzhi 11-7 in the quarterfinals today. Manoj trounced Tajik Djuraev Hurshed 14-2 to round off an all-win day for the Indians. The trio now stands just one win away from Olympic qualification as even a silver medal would fetch them a ticket to Beijing. An elated national coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu said, "I don't have words to describe how brilliant these boys were today. Jitender deserves a special mention as he was simply unstoppable today. In fact, he got a standing ovation from the local fans for his splendid performance." After the rest-day tomorrow, Jitender will take on Kazakhstan's Sarsembayev Mirat in the semis, while Vijender will square off against Iranian Amiri Homayon. Manoj, meanwhile, will be up against Kyrgyzstan's Madaminov Akmatali. The other three Indians, who have already advanced to the semifinals are Dinesh Kumar (81kg), Dilbag Singh (69kg) and Praveen Kumar (+91kg). Of these, Dilbag and Praveen are yet to take the ring as they got first-round byes and the duo can qualify only by emerging champions in their respective categories. — PTI
|
|
Nice (France), March 20 Anand, who lost his last round rapid game against Peter Leko of Hungary, suffered his second defeat on the trot and remained on 4.5 points out of a possible 9 in the combined standings after a rocking start that saw him in sole lead after round 3. For the record, this was Anand's third straight loss against Morozevich in a blindfold game since 2006. The Indian star had also lost to the Russian in 2007 and 2006 in the same event when it was held in Monaco. The event is being played on a round robin basis between 12 players and in each round there is one blindfold and one rapid game. It was a Slav Defense by Anand that did not get the desired result. Morozevich went for a sharp variation and got an advantage in the middle game thanks to his excellent central control. The position was already better when Morozevich sacrificed a knight on the 25th move to leave Anand's king in a spot of bother and the latter resigned four moves later. Anand will look forward to a recovery in the rapid game when he will have white pieces. — PTI
|
|
Sharapova joins Kuznetsova in semis
Indian Wells, March 20 Sharapova, the Australian Open champion and fourth seed, stormed back from 5-2 down in the first set to beat holder Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia 7-6 6-1 in an evening quarter-final at Indian Wells Tennis Garden yesterday. The 20-year-old will face Kuznetsova in the last four after the second seed swept past Polish teenager Agnieszka Radwanska 6-2 6-4. ''In the first set, I felt like I didn't even belong on that court but I finally got my groove back,'' Sharapova told reporters after beating Hantuchova for the seventh time in eight career meetings. ''My level just was so low in that first set. I was making so many errors and she had that first set in her hands but she just didn't take her opportunities. ''She did everything better than I did in the first set and somehow I ended up winning it. That gave me the confidence and in the end of that set I started to pick it up. The second set was great.'' Sharapova, champion at Indian Wells in 2006, shrugged off a scrappy start to force a first-set tiebreak, which she took 7-2. She then broke fifth-seeded Hantuchova in the second and sixth games of the second set to secure her 18th successive win. ''I had my chances and didn't take them today,'' said the Slovakian, who had been seeking her 10th consecutive victory on the hardcourt surface at Indian Wells. ''I lost my concentration in that first set and she took advantage of that.'' Kuznetsova, who was upset by Radwanska in the Australian Open third round in January, broke her 19-year-old opponent in the first and third games of the opening set on the Stadium Court. After service breaks were traded early in the second set, the 22-year-old Russian, last year's Indian Wells runner-up, broke in the seventh game before serving out for victory. ''That was pretty good,'' Kuznetsova said after reaching her third WTA semi-final of the year. ''I played better in the first set and missed a few (opportunities) in the second but overall it was still pretty good. ''I'm confident playing out there and it was a good win for me after losing to her in the Australian Open.'' — Reuters
|
|
Barreto arrested, granted bail
Kolkata, March 20 Barreto, who is better known to the country's soccer fans as "green parrot " of Mohan Bagan, was returning back to his country after signing a fresh contract with the Mohun Bagan Club for the next season. He was to return to Kolkata in June after spending the holidays with his family. After his arrest by the custom officials, Barreto was taken into police custody at Barasat. Afterwards, in the afternoon, he was produced before the SDJM's court at Barasat where he had been granted bail on a security deposit of Rs 10,000. But his passport was seized. On April 4 , Barreto would be again produced in the same court for re-considering of his bail petition. Mohun Bagan Club authorities said they had no knowledge how such a large amount of unaccounted US dollars were found in the possession of Barreto. The club secretary and other officials said they were waiting for the inquiry report of the police.
|
| 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 | |
Bhopal, March 20
Ludhiana, March 20
Video
Sania-Mattek enter semifinals