 |
|
|
INDIA-AUSTRALIA ODI Series
HOCKEY
TEST SERIES |
|
|
|
|
INDIA-AUSTRALIA ODI Series
Vadodara, October 25 Much to the disappointment of the crowd, India eventually managed 288 for eight, put together by cameos from Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, Praveen Kumar and Harbhajan. Earlier, Ricky Ponting led from the front and was amply supported by Mike Hussey, Tim Paine and Cameron White as the visitors rattled up 292 for eight after opting to bat first on a featherbed track. Faced with the daunting task of scoring at 5.86 per over, the star-studded Indian line-up came a cropper against some disciplined bowling and tight fielding to be left struggling at 201 for seven with the last 10 overs remaining. Harbhajan and Praveen brought down the target to 30 from the last 15 balls and then nine from the last six. But once Harbhajan departed off the second ball of the final over from Peter Siddle, India lost the momentum and Australia stopped the hosts four runs short of their total. Earlier in the innings, Gambhir played the sheet-anchor’s role after the cheap dismissal of openers Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar to topscore with 68 off 85 balls with six fours and a six in it. Dhoni and Kohli, surprisingly promoted to number four in the batting order, made starts before getting out when in their 30s. After being 167 for three in the 35th over, the Indians lost three quick wickets - Gambhir, Suresh Raina and Dhoni - while adding only 19 runs and it became 201 for seven at the fall of Ravindra Jadeja in the 40th over. Harbhajan and Praveen kept the hosts in the hunt with some lusty hits to raise visions of a come-from-behind victory, but in the end it proved of no avail. With this win, Australia surged to their second successive victory at this venue over the home team, having beaten the hosts by nine wickets in 2007 at this ground. The thrilling victory put the visitors 1-0 up in the series ahead of the second day-night encounter at Nagpur on October 28. Though India came close, their top-order batting, bowling as well as fielding were thoroughly exposed by the Australian team which is riding on a high after whipping England 6-1 and then retaining the Champions Trophy in South Africa. In the morning, the Australia top-order took a heavy toll of the listless Indian bowling attack and raised a big total. Australia suffered an early blow, when Watson fell off the eighth ball, before recovering superbly through a near-century stand between Ponting and Paine. The sound beginning was built upon by half-centuries from White and Hussey as the Indian bowling, which has struggled of late, was put to the sword in merciless fashion. India began their chase in style with Virender Sehwag hitting Lee’s first two deliveries for successive boundaries. Lee eventually settled score by getting rid off Sehwag by having the batsman caught for 13 in 11 balls. India lost another big wicket when Sachin Tendulkar drove a wide ball from Watson up into a packed off-side field and Ponting took a blinder at short cover-point. — PTI Scoreboard Australia Watson lbw b Nehra 5 (6) Paine c Dhoni b Sharma 50 (62) Ponting lbw b Jadeja 74 (85) White c Raina b Nehra 51 (68) Hussey c Kohli b Sharma 73 (54) Voges c Gambhir b Harbhajan 3 (7) Hopes run out 14 (9) Johnson not out 14 (8) Lee b Sharma 0 (3) Extras (lb 2, w 4, nb 2) 8 Total
(8 wickets; 50 overs) 292 Fall of wickets: 1-5, 2-102, 3-151, Bowling: Kumar 10-0-77-0, Nehra 10-0-58-2, Sharma 10-1-50-3, Harbhajan 10-0 -57-1, Jadeja 9-0-39-1, Raina 1-0-9-0. India Sehwag c Paine b Lee 13 (11) Tendulkar c Ponting b Watson 14 (29) Gambhir lbw b Johnson 68 (85) Kohli c Watson b Voges 30 (41) Dhoni c Lee b Watson 34 (46) Raina c & b Johnson 9 (10) Jadeja lbw b Hauritz 5 (13) Harbhajan b Siddle 49 (31) Kumar not out 40 (32) Nehra not out 2 (2) Extras (lb 10, w 14) 24 Total (8 wickets; 50 overs) 288 Fall of
wickets: 1-25, 2-45, 3-103, 4-167, 5-183, 6-186, 7-201, 8-285. Bowling: Lee 6-0-28-1, Siddle 9-0-55-1, Watson 10-0-70-2, Johnson 10-0-59-2, Hopes 2 -0-10-0, Voges 4-0 -22-1, Hauritz 9-1- 34-1. |
HOCKEY
TEST SERIES
Surrey (Canada), October 25 Wayne Fernandes flicked home twice for Canada in the 26th and 46th minutes. One match of the series was drawn. The Indians made their intentions clear from the very beginning when Sarwanjit Singh tested Canadian goalkeeper David Carter in the opening minute followed by captain Rajpal Singh’s attempt which narrowly missed the mark. Canada took some time to settle down but soon produced a couple of fine moves which tested the Indian goalkeeper Adrian D’Souza. First Philip Wright missed a deflection from Rob Short and then Gabbar Singh’s effort went in vain as D’Souza brought off a one of his splendid saves. India broke the ice in the 21st minute after midfielder Sardar Singh picked up the pace. Sardar sent a well-measured pass to Shivendra Singh who in turn pushed to the waiting Prabhjot atop the striking circle. The first timer from Prabhjot went past Carter to give India the lead. Canada nearly pulled one back shortly after but Connor Meakin's deflection was saved by D'Souza. A faulty stick tackle by Bharat Chhikara in the circle led to Canada’s two successive penalty corners which Fernandes sank for the equaliser in the 26th minute. Canada nearly took the lead but D’Souza again saved a Wright shot as the home team striker got past Indian defenders Dhananjay Mahadik and Sandeep Singh. But it was India who forged ahead in the 31st minute as Chandi excelled with individual play and tapped the ball into goal after drawing out Carter. Canada missed a chance to equalise close to half time with David Jameson failing to beat D’Souza with two rebounds. India earned their first of two penalty corners after the change of ends but Sandeep shot wide. Chandi had another goal scoring opportunity but Carter made a glove save. Canada put pressure on the shaky Indian defence but found the alert D’Souza rising to the occasion as he blocked another onslaught from a Jameson and Wright combination. The hosts restored parity in the 46th minute when Fernandes struck again with his flick from Canada’s third penalty corner. — PTI |
|
Johor Bahru, October 25 Burly Thai Chapchai Nirat (200) came second after a sterling 66 in the weather-hit event that was reduced to a 54-hole tournament. Among other Indians in fray, Anirban Lahiri’s (206) third round of 68 earned him a top 10 finish at ninth, one shot ahead of Rahil Gangjee (tied 15th). Rising star Gaganjeet Bhullar (210) came tied 24th, four shots ahead of compatriots Ashok Kumar, C Muniyappa and Jyoti Randhawa who share the 47th place. Digvijay Singh finished tied 56th at 215, one stroke ahead of SSP Chowrasia (62nd). Himmat had a rather sedate front nine with the third hole bogey sandwiched between birdies as the golfer took the turn at one-under. On his way back, Himmat birdied the 11th, 14th and 15th but dropped a shot each on the 13th and the final hole to settle for a two-under card and share the third spot with defending champion Retief Goosen. Despite missing his maiden Asian Tour title after coming so close, Rai was not too unhappy since it was his best finish this season. “It feels good and satisfying to know that I played so well. Overall it has been a great tournament for me. Playing with K J Choi and the things that I learnt from him is unbelievable. His concentration is very good and he hit some really great shots,” said Rai. — PTI
|
Kolkata, October 25 The first half of the match yielded six goals as fortune swung in favour of both the teams, but Chidi settled the issue with a record scoreline. Mohun Bagan scored through Chidi in (17th, 33rd, 46th and 66th minutes) and newcomer Manish Mathani (22nd). For East Bengal, Yusif Yakubu scored a brace (35th and 44th) while Nirmal Chhetri scored in the eighth minute. With four goals to his credit, Chidi was adjudged the man of the match. Mohun Bagan thus avenged their 0-5 loss to East Bengal in the historic 1975 IFA Shield final. At that time, national goalkeeper Bhaskar Ganguly had conceded four goals. But 34 years later, East Bengal custodian Abhra Mondal conceded a record five goals. Having made it bigger on the big occasion, Bagan supporters and players celebrated the win as Diwali had returned to Salt Lake stadium here. For a moment, the absence of Indian captain was not felt as the players of both the teams entertained nearly 90,000 crowd to the hilt. — PTI
|
|
RCA Feud
Jaipur, October 25 Former Rajasthan Cricket Association deputy president and currently spokesperson of the nine-member ad hoc committee, Shivcharan Mali censured BCCI for the “undesirable” decision. “On what ground the BCCI is keeping Rajasthan teams at bay? Earlier it was Rajasthan Under-19 women’s team which were stopped from playing in the BCCI tournaments on the pretext that there were two factions which have sent their teams in the tournament. A few days later same logic was cited to keep the Under-19 boys team at bay,” Mali fumed. “They took a decision, which is undesirable, despite the fact that now an ad hoc committee is in place and has selected both of these teams. Then on what ground the BCCI is keeping Rajasthan team at bay?” he added. Rajasthan government recently appointed the committee, with former Ranji Trophy cricketer Ratan Singh as convener. “Our first priority is to get our teams playing and we hope BCCI mends it ways to accommodate Rajasthan in the U-22 match against Orissa which kicks off on October 28. We are writing to the BCCI officials and also to those who have been attached with the Rajasthan cricket,” Mali said. “We would also approach former RCA President Lalit Modi, who is also chairman of the BCCI’s fixture committee, and it is his moral duty to help the Rajasthan teams. The BCCI should understand that few matches can make or break career of any budding player,” Mali added.— PTI
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
Praveen Kumar and Harbhajan Singh’s batting heroics took India agonisingly close to a sensational win before the hosts slumped to a four-run defeat against Australia in the first match of the seven-ODI cricket series here today.
RCA Feud
