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South Africa choke again
Twenty20 World Cup |
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Lanka wary of resurgent Windies
It’s official: KKR, Buchanan part ways
Confederations Cup
All India Hot Weather Football
Wrestler stripped of Arjuna Award
Saina enters quarters
Houghton blasts training facilities in country
Women’s hockey team grounded
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South Africa choke again A showman-like yet sweeping display by Shahid Afridi - 51 runs off 34 balls and two wickets for 16 - evicted the South African juggernaut from the World Twenty20 and catapulted Pakistan into the final of the competition. On a wicket becoming slower and lower, the Proteas failed to chase down a target of 150, surrendering by seven runs. Jacques Kallis, with his sound technique, took the battle into Pakistani territory with an innings of 64. But compelled to throw caution to the winds in the 18th over, he holed out in the safe hands of Shoaib Malik at long on. A brilliant exhibition of fast bowling by Umar Gul ensured the South Africans did not enjoy any freedom for pyrotechnics. Jean Paul Duminy’s unbeaten 44 was not electrifying enough. Graeme Smith departed in the last of the power play overs. A short ball from Mohammed Amir was much too quick for him to pull, the bowler took the top-edge himself. Earlier, Gul dropped him (and hurt his head in the process) off Abdul Razzaq at mid-off when he was eight. In the next over, Hershelle Gibbs proclaimed himself with a glorious front foot cover drive to the fence; but Afridi deceived him with a top spinner, which hit the top of off-stump. All of a sudden 46 for two seemed fascinating; it became more so when Abraham de Villiers played on attempting to cut the same bowler - having been dropped by wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal off the previous ball. The favourites were suddenly uncertain about playing shots. Kallis had gathered momentum with two fours in Amir’s first over; but couldn’t maintain this. The tempo returned in Gul’s first over, the 14th of the innings, when Kallis struck two fours, including a sumptuous cover drive. Younus quite inexplicably bowled Fawad Alam, a part-time left-arm spinner. The over cost 15 as Kallis helped himself to a four and six to long on off consecutive deliveries. The ever smiling Younus elected to bat, perhaps mindful of the wicket here in previous matches turning progressively. And Kamran Akmal gave him a fitting start, cutting, pulling and driving with aplomb, even lofting the speedy Dale Steyn to long off for six. Yet, he got carried away, stepping out to pull the next ball only to top edge to mid-on. 28 in 2.3 overs reflected a healthy run rate, but the fall of two wickets slowed the strike rate thereafter. Afridi had almost been written off as a batsman in the early part of this tournament. But restraining himself this time, he helped stabilise the innings and erected a sound platform. The first sign of aggression came in the 5th over when he twice pulled short deliveries from Kallis for fours to midwicket. It was 47 for two after six. The real indication of intent erupted in the 11th, when he clobbered Johan Botha thrice through the covers before steering him to thirdman for the fourth boundary of the over. But having reached his 50 with a clip to long on for a couple off Albie Morkel, he could not resist a wild swing against a tossed up delivery from Jean Paul Duminy, merely top-edging in the process. Shoaib Malik played anchor, scampering singles and hitting the odd boundary till he holed out at long off to Roelof van der Merwe. Boundaries, let alone sixes, though, dried up after the fourth ball of the 15th over, resulting in only 29 runs emerging from the last five overs. With the ball getting softer and not coming on to the bat, big shots were simply not forthcoming. Scoreboard Pakistan South Africa |
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Twenty20 World Cup
Nottingham, June 18 Kiwi skipper Aimee Watkins was the star performer as she led from the front with a blistering unbeaten 89 to steer her side to a challenging 145 for five after opting to bat first. Watkins’ 58-ball knock was also the highest individual score of the tournament so far. The Indians buckled under pressure of a daunting target and could manage just 93 for nine in their quota of 20 overs. Sian Ruck (2/18) and Amy Satterthwaite (2/18) shared four wickets between them in India’s horrid batting collapse. Amita Sharma (24) and Mithali Raj (20), who were two of the three batters to reach double digit scores, could manage to hang around for some time, but could not build on the starts. England will take on Australia in the second semifinal at the Oval in London tomorrow. India made a shaky start as Poonam Raut (5) fell cheaply when she mistimed an on-drive only to be caught at square leg. Anjum Chopra (15) and Mithali had an onerous responsibility to score quickly, but the duo consumed too many balls for their runs, which resulted in the required run-rate shooting up. The Indian camp was in for a double shock as Chopra and Harmanpreet Kaur (0) were dismissed off successive balls. Chopra’s attempted a pull off Kate Pulford that went high in the air and Bates took a diving catch, running from midwicket. — PTI Scoreboard New Zealand India
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Lanka wary of resurgent Windies
London, June 18 Sri Lanka’s impeccable record and incredible balance will definitely give them an edge in tomorrow’s encounter and Kumar Sangakkara’s men seemed capable of achieving any target and defending any total. Sanath Jayasuriya may not have set the tournament alight yet but the veteran swashbuckler is capable of destroying any bowling attack single-handedly on his day and West Indies would pray tomorrow is not one of those days. For Sri Lanka, Jayasuriya’s lack of form has hardly been a concern because runs have been flowing from Tillakaratne Dilshan’s prolific blade. The all-rounder is carrying his spectacular form right from the Indian Premier League and rival bowlers are yet to come up with a solution as to how to stymie him. Sangakkara’s has been a reassuring presence down the order, while Mahela Jayawardene never shied away from stepping up to the plate. But more than their batting, Sri Lanka owe their prosperity to their bowlers who seem capable of defending every total, however paltry it may look on paper. Batsmen would vouch, Lasith Malinga has been unplayable at times. And even when they saw through the pacers, the mere sight of Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis bowling in tandem has send shivers down many a batsman’s spine. To make it worse for their rivals, Sri Lanka has been dishing out innovations after innovations, be it in their batting or bowling. Dilshan’s bewildering scoop over wicket-keeper’s head, Jayawardene’s bemusing back-bat-paddle and Malinga’s disguised lower full toss - all have added value to the team and proved too much for their flummoxed opponents. In spite of all these, West Indies may still refuse to throw in the towel tomorrow. After all, they have got the better of teams like defending champions India and ODI world champion Australia in the tournament so far. If their captain Chris Gayle finds his mojo tomorrow, Sri Lanka might be in for a leatherhunt. The West Indian overcame their defeat against South Africa and then held their nerve to edge out England to reach the semifinal and they are in no mood to stop there. West Indies unearthed a Twenty20 specialist in Lendl Simmons, while Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul proved against England that there is nothing like old hands when going gets tough.
—PTI
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It’s official: KKR, Buchanan part ways
Kolkata, June 18 “(John) Buchanan has informed Knight Riders that despite his hard work over the past two seasons, he has not achieved everything that he set out to and has not been able take the franchise into the future as per his vision for this team. We have amicably agreed that Knight Riders will release him from his contract with immediate effect,” Mehta said. The KKR management refrained from using any harsh words and instead, wished Buchanan success in his future endeavours. “I would like to state that John is a great coach. He had a vision for Knight Riders and did not waver from this vision. Unfortunately, it has not brought the results that are so necessary to this franchise. Knight Riders would like to wish him every success in his future wherever that may take him,” Mehta said. Buchanan, on his part, said his thoughts were no more “aligning” with the team management and he was “very disappointed in not being able to continue with the Knight Riders and complete the work I started some 18 months back.” “I think we have the makings of a very good IPL franchise, and the foundations are there for 2010. I would like to thank everyone who supported me at Knight Riders, and I wish the team every success in 2010,” Buchanan was quoted as saying in the release. With Buchanan out, names of former Sri Lankan and Bangladesh coach Dav Whatmore was doing round for the vacant coach’s job even though the NCA chief maintained that he was “employed with BCCI”. Former Australian captain Steve Waugh and Michael Bevan’s names are also said to be in contention. The KKR management, meanwhile, announced that they would take a fresh approach to the 2010 season. “While the 2009 IPL season was an exciting and successful event, the Kolkata Knight Riders regretfully did not achieve what was required of them during the tournament, failing to fulfill both their own and their fans’ expectations,” the franchisee said. “The Knight Riders management and owners have reviewed the strengths and weaknesses of the team with all parties involved and are pro-actively looking for a new approach to ensure Knight Riders are well prepared for the 2010 season of IPL and beyond,” it added. The KKR top brass had yesterday refused to confirm the development even as a team insider revealed that the team management had conveyed the decision to Buchanan and was looking for his replacement. — PTI
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Confederations Cup
Johannesburg, June 18 The top-ranked Spaniards qualified for the next round yesterday by beating Iraq 1-0 for a record-leveling 14th straight win, but it was South Africa’s 2-0 victory over New Zealand that created the kind of colorful and noisy atmosphere everyone is expecting to see at next year’s World Cup. Bernard Parker, the man who was in the wrong place at the wrong time in South Africa’s opening match, scored a goal in each half to give Bafana Bafana four points in Group A. “We pushed hard and got a bit of luck,” Parker said. Although the host team faces Spain in its final group match, the South Africans will likely advance to the semifinals as long as they avoid a heavy defeat. “The goals we had are not sufficient,” South Africa coach Joel Santana said. But no matter what happens Saturday, South Africa’s win in Rustenburg set the thousands of fans dressed in green and yellow - the national team’s colors - dancing and shaking in the stands to the constant roar of the plastic vuvuzelas. And to get the party started, it was Parker who did more than redeem himself for inadvertently blocking a goal-bound header with the back of his leg late in the opening draw against Iraq. Instead, he sent a shot into the net off New Zealand defender Andy Boyens in the 21st minute and then deflected in a cross from Tsepo Masilela in the 52nd. “I thank my teammates,” Parker said. “They believed in me. I managed to focus and put this thing behind me.” Spain’s win was its 14th straight in all competitions, matching the feat achieved by Brazil, France and Australia. Another win on Saturday against South Africa will break that record and equal Brazil’s 35-match unbeaten run. David Villa scored the lone goal for Spain in Bloemfontein, slipping between a pair of defenders scoring from Joan Capdevila's cross in the 55th minute. The goal was Villa’s 30th in 46 international matches, putting him alone in second place behind Raul Gonzalez’s 44. Iraq has one point from its two matches and still has a chance to make the semifinals. The Iraqis, coached by Serbian journeyman Bora Milutinovic, need to beat New Zealand on Saturday to have a chance. — AP
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All India Hot Weather Football
Mandi, June 18 Dalbir Academy boys mounted pressure from the start and Pawan Deep Singh after getting a pass from right winger scored a beautiful goal for Academy boys. Uttrakhand Police tried to level the score but to no avail. In the second match of the day, Rail Coach Factory (RCF) Kapurthala defeated Eastern Railway 5-3. The match was decided by tie-breaker as both teams failed to score in the stipulated time. Harsharjit Singh, Amandeep Singh, Gopal Thapa, Sukhraj Singh and Jamanjeet Singh scored for RCF. While Sanju Sarkar, Samraj Dag, Baliyar Myrma scored for Eastern Railway. RCF have also qualified for league matches. League matches will start tomorrow.
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Wrestler stripped of Arjuna Award
New Delhi, June 18 The wrestler had been asked to surrender the statuette and scroll of honour of the Arjuna Award, conferred on him in 1998 “immediately to the Ministry”. The Ministry circular said with a view to ensuring that the “prestige and dignity of the awards are maintained, the concerned schemes themselves provide for cancellation and annulment of awards to any recipient for specific reasons”. |
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Saina enters quarters
New Delhi, June 18 In the quarterfinals tomorrow, Saina will take on the winner of the pre-quarterfinal match between world number seven Chen Wang of Hong Kong and Korean Hye Youn Hwang. After losing a close first game, world number eight Saina bounced back in style and spanked the German to draw parity. In the last game, the Hyderabadi ace was lagging 7-11 but a flurry of smashes saw her first narrow the gap and then march ahead 18-17 before eventually sealing the game 21-19. Meanwhile, it was curtains for Aditi Mutatkar in the other pre-quarterfinals after the Pune girl was blown away by Maria Febe Kusumastuti of Indonesia 21-8, 21-5 in just 23 minutes.
— PTI |
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Houghton blasts training facilities in country
New Delhi, June 18 “I have looked for everything, I went to three different venues but could not find a place where I can train the guys. So we need to go to Dubai. If with such facilities we are number 140 then we are doing well, I should say,” Houghton said. Houghton, along with the national team, will leave for a 10-day training in Dubai on June 25 and from there will move to Barcelona on July 7 for one-month training as a part of preparation for the Nehru Cup, slated for August 19-31. Houghton said India will play against regional teams in Barcelona. “We would look to play 4-5 games against the regional teams rather than play against the national team of Barcelona. We don’t want to lose 0-5, that’s not in the agenda.” Three summers ago he was handed the reigns of Indian football team and even after putting all the hard work with the team, Houghton rues that the game was going nowhere. “After three years as coach and despite the fact that we have made it to three finals and won two of them but still I feel that Indian football is not going forward quickly,” he said.
— PTI |
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Women’s hockey
team grounded
New Delhi, June 18 Hockey India blamed the public-sector travel agency and the German airline Lufthansa for the fiasco. Hockey India secretary-general Aslam Khan said, “We had sought all travel related information in advance from Balmer Lawrie Ltd, the travel agency that handles government-financed foreign tours. The travel agency insisted that Lufthansa officials had clearly stated that transit visas were not required to land in Frankfurt. However, to our dismay, we were told around midnight on Wednesday that Lufthansa officials at the IGI airport had refused to allow the team to board the flight without transit visas.” Aslam said the team had to spend a couple of hours in Frankfurt before taking the flight to Kazan. The team will now leave for Kazan via Moscow in the early hours of Friday.
— IANS |
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A showman-like yet sweeping display by Shahid Afridi - 51 runs off 34 balls and two wickets for 16 - evicted the South African juggernaut from the World Twenty20 and catapulted Pakistan into the final of the competition.
India’s hopes of making it to the Women’s Twenty20 World Cup summit clash went up in smoke after suffering a humiliating 52-run defeat against strong contenders New Zealand in the first semifinal here today.
London, June 18
Dada speak: