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Pak Fixing Scare Eagles fly to Super 8s,
via Super Over |
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Wayamba win, but can’t sneak in
Bushrangers go through
Deccan meet T&T in battle for survival
Weight of doping
Brar wins maiden Raid de Himalaya title
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Pak Fixing Scare Pakistan cricket captain Younus Khan on Tuesday submitted his resignation after being summoned by a panel of the National Assembly and asked to explain reports of match-fixing during the fixture against Australia to keep the Indian team out of the championship. Younus responded to the summons and appeared before the Standing Committee on Sports chaired by Jamshed Dasti and answered queries from members on Pakistan’s defeat against Australia and in the semifinal against New Zealand.
Emerging from the meeting, Younus looked very tense and out of disgust he tendered his resignation to Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ejaz Butt. The PCB chairman turned down the resignation and tried to pacify Younus asking him to stay as captain, but Younus remained adamant that he would not withdraw the resignation. Panel chairman Dasti said Younus had no cause for his emotional step because the team was exonerated by the committee of all charges. Younus remarked that no skipper would accept the job in future if he was summoned before the parliamentary committee the way he was done. The hearing was called to discuss the performance of the team in the Champions Trophy after Dasti said on television that he had evidence that Pakistan deliberately under-performed against Australia and New Zealand in the tournament. “Younis Khan’s perspective is not for everybody to hear that is why we called him in the meeting”, Dasti said.
A PCB official who spoke to Dawn News on condition of anonymity believed there was more to the story than just criticism of the team and the captain. “Younus was mystified as to why vice-captain Shahid Afridi was earlier called up to discuss the New Zealand and Australia series when the captain himself was available in the country and recovering from what was only a hairline fracture.” The resignation generated a mixed response from former cricketers. Ex-captain Aamir Sohail said Younus took an emotional decision. But he emphasized that no player should take exception to a parliamentary panel’s summons. The panel had exonerated him and his team of all charges, he added. Aamir blamed the PCB officials for fanning allegations and recalled that team manager Yawar Saeed during the tour to Sri Lanka triggered speculations by his statements that bookies were staying in the same hotel as the Pakistan team. Federal minister for sports Pir Aftab Shah Jilani said the Pakistan Cricket Board should not approve Younus’ resignation. He said the panel should avoid summoning players because of the sensitive nature of such matters. Former pace bowler Sarfraz Nawaz said it was a mistake to play an out of form Younus during the championship. In four outings he scored a total of 53 runs and made several mistakes, which led to defeats in the last two fixtures.
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Eagles fly to Super 8s, via Super Over
Earlier, the pace duo of Cornelius de Villiers and Dillion du Preez scalped two wickets each as Diamond Eagles restricted Sussex Sharks to a modest 119 for seven wickets in a Champions League Twenty20 Group B match here today. Luke Wright (19 off 12 balls) played a cameo upfront, while Edmund Joyce (21) and Joe Gatting (25) contributed in the middle to set the run-a-ball target on a tricky Ferozeshah Kotla wicket. de Villiers and du Preez were the early destroyers for Eagles, picking two wickets each giving away 20 and 23 runs respectively. Drafted into the squad in place of injured James Pattinson, Wright, in Chris Nash's company, gave an explosive start to the Sussex. After Sussex elected to bat, Wright cracked two sixes and one boundary in the first three overs, but could not sustain the momentum as the English side lost wickets at regular intervals. Wright clobbered de Villiers for a six straight over the head and then followed it up with a boundary before his over-aggression finally led to his downfall. He went for a huge heave over mid-off, only to see de Villiers knocking down his stumps. Looking to clear mid-on, Nash followed soon, giving a simple catch to Mpitsang off Dillon du Preez. Rory Hamilton-Brown opened his account in style, dispatching de Villiers through extra cover for four but the latter took revenge soon by pouching a brilliant return catch on his own run-up to see Sussex struggling at 35 for three after the powerplay. As if that was not enough, West Indian Dwayne Smith went for a wild swing off Victor Mptisang and gets an inside edge on to his stumps. Captain Michael Yardy (12) also departed without contributing much as he played a Ryan Bailey delivery on to his off stump. Witnessing the fate of his partners, who perished in search of big shots, Joyce preferred to take the safe path and played sensibly along with Gatting to build the foundation for the score. But just when the duo started to open up, Joyce had to return after being given run out. Gatting, who played a quickfire innings with the help of one four and a six, also went down to du Preez. Scoreboard Sussex Eagles:
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Wayamba win, but can’t sneak in
New Delhi, October 13 Bushrangers made 103 for 4 in 20 overs in reply to Wayamba’s 118 for 9 in 20 overs. What stood Bushrangers in good stead was their seven-wicket win over Daredevils and Wayamba’s 50-run defeat at the hands of the same side. The Australian team, needed to make 83 runs, chasing 119 runs for victory, to qualify for the next stage. And Andrew McDonald launched into a furious assault on Kaushal Lokuarachchi, cracking three consecutive fours and a huge six, to take Bushrangers past the threshold. For the record, Wayamba totted up 118 in 20 overs on the strength of an 81-run second-wicket partnership between Kulatunga (41, 39b, 3x4, 2x6) and Vandrot. They repaired the damage after the early exit of Udawatte for one run and with just four runs on the board. But the rest of the batting could not build on the platform provided by Kulatunga and Vandort as they lost the last seven wickets for a meagre 34 runs. From 85 for two, they were 99 for six, with three wickets falling at the score of 99. In reply, it was a huge crawl for Victorian Bushrangers as they just could not cope with Wayamba’s varied spin and pace bowling. The early fall of Rob Quiney put the Bushrangers on a cautious mode and their cause was not helped much when Blizzard was also consumed by Wellegedara. No surprise then that Bushrangers could garner only 37 runs in the first 10 overs. But the unbeaten partnership between Hodge (44) and Andrew McDonald (27) ensured that they got past the 83-run mark needed to gain entry into the Super Eights. When McDonald joined Hodge, Bushrangers needed 51 to win off 25 balls, and his assault on Kaushal Lokuarachchi took away Wayamba’s chances of progression. With the ball once again keeping low, stroke making was tedious and Wayamba’s bowling, comprising Ajantha Mendis, had such a bite that Bushrangers found the going tough, till the fag end. Scoreboard Wayamba Elevens Victoria Bushrangers
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Bushrangers go through
New Delhi, October 13 Bushrangers made 103 for 4 in 20 overs in reply to Wayamba’s 118 for 9 in 20 overs. What stood Bushrangers in good stead was their seven-wicket win over Daredevils and Wayamba’s 50-run defeat at the hands of the same side. The Australian team, needed to make 83 runs, chasing 119 runs for victory, to qualify for the next stage. And Andrew McDonald launched into a furious assault on Kaushal Lokuarachchi, cracking three consecutive fours and a huge six, to take Bushrangers past the threshold. For the record, Wayamba totted up 118 in 20 overs on the strength of an 81-run second-wicket partnership between Kulatunga (41, 39b, 3x4, 2x6) and Vandrot. They repaired the damage after the early exit of Udawatte for one run and with just four runs on the board. |
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Deccan meet T&T in battle for survival
Hyderabad, October 13 Somerset is the only team in this group to have completed their league campaign, sneaking to a tense victory against the Chargers in their openers before crashing to a 44-run defeat against T&T. In such a scenario, Adam Gilchrist and his Deccan teammates have little choice but to go for an outright win and hope their net run rate sees them through to the Super Eight stage. Things would not have been so complicated for the IPL outfit had they clinched the thriller against Somerset. The likes of Fidel Edwards, RP Singh, Pragyan Ojha or Scott Styris could not break the 50-run ninth wicket stand between James Hildreth and Alfredo Thomas and that cost them the match.
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Weight of doping
New Delhi, October 13
“Piyadarshini has been caught for the first time and she might face a two-year ban for it,” the source said. According to the rules of International Weightlifting Federation, a national federation can be banned for a year if three of its lifters test positive for a banned substance. “The rules are clear, the national federation can be banned for a year if there are three positive dope tests in a year. IWF can escape the ban if it can pay Rs one lakh fine,” the source said. Earlier, Shailja had tested positive for a banned anabolic steroid in a NADA test while Vicky had been caught by the World Anti-Doping Agency. If IWF is banned, the Indian lifters would not be able to participate in the October 3 to 14 Games. The Federation would also have to shell out $5,000 for every failed dope test. IWF has been banned twice previously, the last time being in 2006 when Shailja, B Pramilavalli, Edwin Raju and Tejinder Singh tested positive. The ban was lifted after six months after the IWF gave a $50,000 fine. Meanwhile, sources said Shailja has not yet sought a test of her B sample. If she doesn’t seeks one in the next couple of days, it would be taken as admission of guilt and she would be banned immediately. — PTI
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Brar wins maiden Raid de Himalaya title
Srinagar, October 13 Two other Armymen - Captain Nishant Karki and Amartej Pal Singh Buwal - came second and third respectively in the X-treme category. Army were deservedly awarded the Team Trophy for their stupendous performance in the six-leg Maruti Suzuki rally which covered more than 2000 kms and touted as the longest and toughest motorsport event in the country. Champion of the last five years in X-treme category, Suresh Rana of Himachal Pradesh, had crashed out of the rally in the fifth and penultimate leg from Rangdum to Thang and back on Sunday. Rana was leading the race after the fourth leg, but after that Brar jumped to the top in the fifth and went on to maintain his lead till the last leg from Rangdum to Srinagar. In the X-treme bike category, Maudgil from Kalka in Himachal Pradesh notched up his third title in a row after his maiden win in 2005. Maudgil, who led the race from the first leg from Shimla to Manila, rode a Yamaha WR 450 provided by Bangalore-based Red Rooster Racing. Gurprinder Sarao on a Yamaha and Sandeep Singh Matharu on a Bajaj Pulsar were second and third respectively. In the adventure trial category, the team of Prasad and Pradeep won in the Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) category in a Mahindra Scorpio, while Dharampal Jangra and Hari won the car category. The all-women team of Suchi Thakur and Molona (of W+K racing team) were awarded the Coup De Damsel Trophy. — PTI
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Pakistan cricket captain Younus Khan on Tuesday submitted his resignation after being summoned by a panel of the National Assembly and asked to explain reports of match-fixing during the fixture against Australia to keep the Indian team out of the championship.
New
Delhi, October 13
Members referred to reports in a section of the Indian media regarding allegation of match-fixing and grilled Younus for nearly 45 minutes. While the panel dismissed charges of match-fixing, Younus felt greatly offended by their aggressive tone and nature of queries. He also excused himself from being available for the upcoming two series against New Zealand and Australia.
Younus on the other hand said, “I could not stand criticism from all and sundry as it was affecting my performance that is why I resigned”. He said he led the team from the front despite the finger injury, for which he was advised four weeks of rest. 
New Delhi, October 13
“Priyadarshini was tested in Pune on August 7 and 8 during trials and was found positive. The National Anti-Doping Agency report says she was using a masking agent to save herself from getting caught for taking banned substances,” Gulati said. Although Gulati refused to comment on the possibility of a ban, sources in the IWF said the penalty seems unavoidable.
