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Ponting determined to come good
Raina (146) helps India A set stiff target
Selection of Test team today |
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Chandigarh Lions clinch ICL T20 title
Charlesworth appointed Oz coach
3 Pakistan teams for Surjit hockey tourney
Jeev to play in Indian Open
Mizoram, Punjab win
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Ponting determined to come good
Hyderabad, September 30 Ponting averages a pathetic 12.28 in India, a jinxed land for the Aussie captain where runs simply stop flowing from his otherwise prolific blade and his mojo deserts him. "You are spot on," Ponting said here today, when reminded of his dismal record on Indian soil. "This is not the place where I enjoyed lot of success. There is a bit of void in my international career. Last time, I missed three Test matches with a broken finger and played only one," rued the Tasmanian. Things, however, might change in the forthcoming Test series against India, says the Australian skipper. "Hopefully, I would score lot of runs this time around. I'm working hard and hoping to make a turn-around here. It has been a pretty poor record and hope I can rectify that this time," Ponting said. In absence of Adam Gilchrist, Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne and Andrew Symonds, the visitors sports a rather inexperience look but Ponting is not worried. "We have to play the game at a certain level and anywhere near our best is good enough to beat any side. India will be competitive but we have to give ourselves the best chance. Of course, they are no experience but confidence and skill of our young players should be good enough," Ponting said. "Having young players is not necessarily a bad thing. They bring in lot of exuberance and energy. Playing India is a challenge and they won't get tired easily," he explained. Last time both the sides squared off, sparks flew Down Under and the entire series was marred by acrimony. Ponting, however, does not foresee a recurrence and said both sides would have to play the game in the right spirit. "We will discuss these issues in the Match Referee's meeting. It's important for both captains to ensure that the players play in the right spirit," he said. India and Australia have played some of the most intense series in recent past but former players like Sunil Gavaskar believes playing frequently would take the charm off the famed rivalry. Ponting, however, does not envisage such a threat. "Any Indo-Australia series is great all the time. We play lot of cricket and we have to embrace that," he said.
‘Sachin’s 77 runs would be hard to come’
Ponting today vowed to make life difficult for Sachin Tendulkar in the upcoming Test series, which is likely to see the Indian replace West Indian batting great Brian Lara as the highest run accumulator in cricket's longer version.
Ponting and his teammates had no doubt whatsoever that it is just a matter of time before Tendulkar, with 11,877 Test runs under his belt, overtakes Lara, who quit the game with 11,953 runs against his name. Those 77 runs, however, would not be easy to come by, vowed Ponting. "Hopefully not (in this series)," Ponting said. "I don't have too many great memories of him, for he tends to score heavily against us," quipped the cheeky Australian. "But I have the highest regard for him. Sachin is a true champion, one of the all-time greats of the game and reaching this milestone would be a great reward for him," Ponting said. "But we are here to win and know pretty well that we have to get rid of him early if we are to win here. We have come here with a few plans for him and hope our plans would click," Ponting, here for the warm-up match against the Yuvraj Singh-led Board President's XI, told reporters here today. Ponting would rely most on spearhead Brett Lee to silence Tendulkar in the four-match Test series and the speedster said he is up to the challenge. "He is a world class player who has proved himself over more than a decade. You talk about (Don) Bradman, you talk about Lara, Sachin and probably Ricky...It's an honour to bowl to Sachin and getting his wicket is the ultimate prize," Lee said. "We have done our homework and have devised some plans and I hope we can execute those," added Lee.
The Australian cricket team on Tuesday gave a thumbs up to the security arrangements put in place for their upcoming Test series against India with skipper Ricky Ponting saying the visitors do not have any apprehension in playing in Delhi despite the recent blasts.
Ponting's comments were in sharp contrast to pacer Stuart Clark's statement to the Australian media that the recent blasts had left the players jittery about playing the third of the four-match Test series against India in Delhi. Ponting distanced himself from Clark's view and said, "I don't think his comments reflect the view of the team. The skipper said his side had full faith in Cricket Australia (CA) and the security cover provided to them was also quite reassuring. "We are keeping an eye on the scenario and are in constant touch with security people to know what they think of the situation. They are comfortable with the security provided to us and we are comfortable too. I must say we are happy with the arrangements," Ponting said. —
PTI
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Raina (146) helps India A set stiff target
Chennai, September 30 India A made a fine recovery in their second innings resuming at the overnight score of 27 for one, thanks to a scintillating knock of 146 by captain Suresh Raina in 212 minutes off 130 balls with the help of 10 fours and eight sixes. Opener M. Vijay (57 off 106 balls with seven fours, one six), S Kukreja (41 off 110 balls with four fours) and Wriddhiman Saha (39 off 83 balls with five fours) made valuable contributions. Vijay and Kukreja added 83 runs for the third wicket off 18.5 overs, batting together for 70 minutes. Later, for the sixth wicket Suresh Raina and Saha put on 88 runs in 71 minutes off 17.2 overs. Starting their second innings, the Kiwis lost opener D.J. Wadling leg before to India A pacer Manish Parmar for 6 in the 11th over. Aaron Redmond batting on 25 and Peter Fulton on 7 saw the side through to stumps. Scoreboard India A (1st innings) 248 New Zealand A (1st innings) 230 India A (2nd innings) S Kukreja c Young b Boult 41 S Dhawan c Redmond b Boult 7 M Vijay c Fulton b Redmond 57 Raina c Marshall b McCullum 146 J Shah c Young b Redmond 7 Y Pathan c Watling b McCullum 25 W Saha b Arnel 39 A Mishra lbw Arnel 3 M Parmar lbw Arnel 0 A Dinda b Arnel 0 S Tyagi not out 0 Extras (b-4, lb-3, nb-2, w-2) 11 Total (all out, 85 overs) 336 Fall of wickets: 1-12, 2-73, 3-156, 4-171, 5-230, 6-318, 7-329, 8-329, 9-329, 10-336. Bowling: M Mason 13-3-25-0, T Boult 12-4-34-2, B Arnel 13-3-38-4, N McCullum 28-3-118-2, A Redmond 12-0-92-2, N Broom 7-1-22-0. New Zealand A (2nd innings) A Redmond batting 25 BJ Watling lbw Parmar 6 P Fulton batting 7 Extras (lb-1, nb-2) 3 Total (1 wkt, 18 overs) 41 Fall of wicket: 1-22 Bowling: A Dinda 4-0-7-0, S Tyagi 3-0-11-0, M Parmar 6-3-9-1, A Mishra 5-1-13-0.
— UNI
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Selection of Test team today
Mumbai, September 30 Ganguly was ignored for the Irani Cup tie touted as a selection trial by the previous committee with Dilip Vengsarkar at the helm. There is immense pressure and scrutiny on the five wise men less than a week after being appointed on India's first fully paid selectors' panel at the cricket board's 79th AGM here. It would be of great interest not only to Ganguly but also the other senior members of the "Team of the Nineties" to see which direction the selection panel takes when the team is announced for the October 9-13 Bangalore Test. An axe on Ganguly, who was a total flop mustering less than 100 runs on the last Test series in Sri Lanka, would send a strong message across to the other three star batsmen - Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and V V S Laxman - to perform or perish. Will Srikkanth and co-selectors Yashpal Sharma, Narendra Hirwani, Surendra Bhave and Raja Venkat pull the rug on the career of Ganguly is the big question ahead of one of the most interesting selection panel meetings. The 36-year-old Bengal stalwart, who staged a spectacular entry into Tests with a debut ton at Lord's in 1996, made a storming return to the five-day game in South Africa in late 2006 after losing his place earlier that year. The classy left-hander amassed over 1100 runs with 239, his career-best score, against Pakistan in Bangalore in late 2007, at a fantastic average of 61.44 last year which compares very favourably with his career average of 41.74 in 109 Tests. He has been unable to maintain that high in the current year though he has come up with important knocks like the 87 he made against the visiting South Africans at Kanpur that helped India level the three-Test rubber in April. This, however, was followed by the left-handed stylist's poor run in Sri Lanka where his best score was 35 in six innings. In case Ganguly is dropped it would open the way for younger players like Yuvraj Singh, back in the reckoning with his inclusion in the Board President's team to take on Australia at Hyderabad after being ignored for the Irani tie, Mohd Kaif, S Badrinath and Rohit Sharma into the playing XI. It remains to be seen whether the selectors opt for a third opener as back-up in case either Sehwag or Gautam Gambhir are unable to take the field for some reason. With the other middle order spots more or less decided and the return of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who opted out of the Test series in Lanka to rest his tired body, shoring up the batting, the selectors would be left with the task of finalising the bowling combination. Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma are certainties to open the bowling. Munaf Patel showed good form in the Irani tie and is the front runner for the third seamer's spot. Anil Kumble, expected to be named as captain, and Harbhajan Singh are sure to take the two spin bowlers' places with an additional spinner expected to be thrown in as back-up. —
PTI
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Chandigarh Lions clinch ICL T20 title
Chandigarh, September 30 Fourth wicket for 84-run partnership between skipper Dinesh Mongia and the 24-year-old all rounder Gaurav Gupta paved the way for Chandigarh Lions’ victory. Chennai Superstars team won the toss and elected to bat. Openers G Vignesh and Hemang Badani laid a solid foundation and contributed 49 runs between them before the former departing in the ninth over, scoring 48 runs off 32 balls. His knock was studded with six fours and two sixes. At the other end, Badani scored a rollicking half century. The Superstars innings folded at 136 for eight. Luv Ablish and Dinesh Mongia played a key role scalping two wickets each. In reply, the Lions were off to a disastrous start and lost three crucial wickets for 21. However, Mongia played a resolute knock (61) in the company of Gaurav, scripted a sensational victory. Gaurav was declared man of the match for his unbeaten 43. Brief scores: Chennai Superstars 136 for eight in 20 overs
(Vignesh 48, Badani 51, Mongia 2 for 16) lost by 6 wickets to Chandigarh Lions 138 for four in 19.1 overs
(Mongia 61, Gupta 43, Vignesh 2/25).
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Charlesworth appointed Oz coach
Melbourne, September 30 Charlesworth, arguably Australia's most credentialed player and coach ever, will take up the reins of the national men's team following the retirement of Barry Dancer who lead the side through the last two Olympic campaigns. In another announcement, Frank Murray has retained his position as coach of the of the women's team after taking on the role in 2004. Charlesworth’s association with the Indian hockey lasted four months following his sudden resignation from the post earlier this year citing inadequate working conditions. — PTI
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3 Pakistan teams for Surjit hockey tourney
Jalandhar, September 30 He said this time three Pakistani teams - Javed Hockey Club, Gojra, Crescent Hockey Club, Sialkot, and Independent Hockey Club, Sargodha, would participate in the tournament. The names of the Pakistani teams have been recommended by the Pakistan Hockey Federation. All three teams would be directly placed into the quarterfinal league stage. The silver jubilee edition of the tournament would be played on knock-out-cum-league basis. According to Iqbal Singh Sandhu, organising secretary of the tournament, last year’s runners-up and star-studded Indian Airlines, Delhi, will now play under the banner of Air India, Mumbai, as Indian Airlines has merged with Air India.
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Jeev to play in Indian Open
New Delhi, September 30 Jeev's participation was in doubt as he was reportedly nursing an injury, but the organisers confirmed here today that Jeev would, after all, be playing in the Open, which is the richest golf event played in the country, with a purse of $1 million. Jeev, who finished joint fifth in the British Masters last week, will now move to the 58th spot in ranking. He had finished joint 13th last year, when his form had taken a slump. But this time around, Jeev seems to be in fine nick.
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Mumbai FC down EB
Mumbai turned giant killers in this edition of the league as they had defeated Mohun Bagan 2-1 to bag all six possible points to hold the pole position. Well-built Felix did what he was expected of him by coach David Booth, just to score a goal quickly. The all-important goal came in the 22nd minute from a set piece move. Anticipating a pass from Subash
Chakraborty, Felix chested the ball down and turned 180 degree to outwit Suleh Musha before placing it to the far post hoodwinking the advancing Subrata Paul, India's international goalkeeper. A minute before, Mumbai FC had survived a two-pronged attack following a corner from Rennedy Singh. First, a goalline save by a Mumbai defender and then a valiant repulsion from Kalyan Chowbey on a return grounder from Edmilsion Marques before Mehrajuddin Wadoo shot wild from close
range. Chowbey excelled today like the previous game but his fierce temperament and an argument with referee A Arjunan cost him next match as he got second successive yellow card. The East Bengal defence was vulnerable following sickness of Surkumar Singh. Khelemba Singh replaced
Surkumar, but the defence line was not up to that mark to pre-empt the attack from Felix and Abel Hammond. In the second half, new coach Stanley Rozario brought in all three substitutes but his players ran out of ideas and failed to get an
equaliser. — UNI |
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Mizoram, Punjab win
Jalandhar, September 30 In another quarterfinal league match, two-time champions Mizoram swamped hapless Delhi by a stunning 8-1 margin to improve their chances of featuring in the knock-out stage. Mizoram led 4-0 at the lemon break. Today's matches saw both Delhi and Punjab play clean and scientific soccer, completely bamboozling their opponents. Punjab were quickly off the block, using their flanks in their trade- mark aggressive style. Even before Meghalaya could decipher what had hit them, Punjab were up by 2-0. Striker Gurpreet Singh Senior weaved his wave past a host of defenders to draw the first blood in the 5th minute. Four minutes later, Gurpreet again pulled off a spectacular solo to find the net and make it 2-0 and brace for himself. Later, Gurpreet Singh Junior waved a magic pattern down the centre to beat the Meghalaya defence with a stunner in the 40th minute. |
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