SPECIAL COVERAGE
CHANDIGARH

LUDHIANA

DELHI


THE TRIBUNE SPECIALS
50 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE

TERCENTENARY CELEBRATIONS
S P O R T S

One of my best tons: Sachin
Hyderabad, November 6
Describing his epic knock of 175 against Australia as one of his best innings, Sachin Tendulkar said his effort would have been even more satisfying if it could have guided the team to victory in the pulsating fifth one-dayer.

Ranji trophy
Punjab manage draw
Chandigarh, November 6
Punjab gave an improved batting display in the second essay as their Ranji Trophy Super League Group A match against champions Mumbai ended in a draw at the Sector 16 cricket stadium here today.



EARLIER STORIES

India lose thriller
November 6, 2009
Series lead at stake
November 5, 2009
Services apologise for J&K fiasco
November 4, 2009
Australia level series
November 3, 2009
India eye hat-trick
November 2, 2009
Yuvraj, Dhoni win it for india
November 1, 2009
India out to hurt injured Oz
October 31, 2009
India receives Queen’s Baton Relay
October 30, 2009

Samantha Stosur serves as she plays against Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez during the Bali Tournament of Champions in Nusa Dua, Bali on Friday. Sanchez won 7-6, 7-5.
Samantha Stosur serves as she plays against Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez during the Bali Tournament of Champions in Nusa Dua, Bali on Friday. Sanchez won 7-6, 7-5. — AFP 

Randhawa up to tied 8th after Rd2
Shanghai, November 6
Back in form, Jyoti Randhawa remained in hunt for a top five finish, carding a sedate two-under 70 to lie tied eighth after the midway stage of the $7,000,000 WGC-HSBC Champions golf tournament here today. Compatriots C Muniyappa (69) rose to tied 37th at 143, two strokes ahead of Jeev Milkha Singh (72) who was tied 45th after the second round at Sheshan International Golf Club.

Surjit hockey from today
Jalandhar, November 6
Though the prestigious 26th Indian Oil Servo Surjit Hockey tournament is all set to get underway from tomorrow, Javed Hockey Club, Gojra (Pakistan), will not be seen in action, as the team has not reported for the tournament till date.

Force India face legal action
London, November 6
Italian wind tunnel operator Aerolab said on Friday they were taking legal action against the Force India Formula One team for “serious and persistent” breaches of contract.

Pinegrove and YPS reach semis
Chandigarh, November 6
The second day of the 12th Sub Junior Hockey Tournament for boys at Pinegrove, Dharampur witnessed some brilliant dribbling as the hosts humbled PPS, Nabha 2-0 in a keenly contested match.





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One of my best tons: Sachin

Hyderabad, November 6
Describing his epic knock of 175 against Australia as one of his best innings, Sachin Tendulkar said his effort would have been even more satisfying if it could have guided the team to victory in the pulsating fifth one-dayer.

Tendulkar’s 45th one-day century, a rollicking 141-ball knock, almost pulled off a great win for India yesterday but the lower-order batsmen could not score the required 19 runs from 17 balls.

All his centuries have been special and this too. But I am still a big fan of his desert storm (innings) — MS Dhoni

It’s one of the best knocks I have seen — Ricky Ponting

“We started off very well, there was a good partnership between Suresh (Raina) and me at one point of time. But we lost few crucial wickets and also the game itself. So it’s disappointing at the end of the day,” Tendulkar said after the match which India lost by just three runs here yesterday.

On being asked if he would rate this century as one of his best knocks, he said, “Ya, sort of. I was hitting the ball well. It was one of my best knocks.”

Tendulkar said it is his passion to play for the nation that has inspired him to perform consistently for 20 long years ever since he made international debut in 1988 as a 16-year-old boy. “It’s the passion of representing India in international cricket that keeps me motivated all the time. It’s always a dream to play for my country. I am absolutely honoured to do that for the last 20 years,” Tendulkar said.

Tendulkar also praised young left-hander Suresh Raina, who scored a run-a-ball 59 to support him well from the other end as they shared a 137-run fifth wicket partnership which was instrumental in bringing India close to win.

“Raina is a terrific talent. We were trying to push the game as close as possible. We were chasing a big target, there was constant pressure on us, but we managed it well to bring the match quite close,” Tendulkar, adjudged Man-of-the-Match for his magnificent knock, said.

Captains - Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Ricky Ponting - also showered encomiums on Tendulkar for his blistery knock. Dhoni said though this was another special innings by Tendulkar, his personal favourite still remains the one he produced in Sharjah against Australia in April 1998.

“It was a pleasure to see him batting so well. All his centuries have been special and this too. But I am still a big fan of his desert storm (innings),” he said.

“It’s one of the best knocks I have seen. Sachin was playing beautifully today. And I think, the wickets was also great here and enthusiastic crowd all around as well,” Ponting said. — PTI

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Ranji trophy
Punjab manage draw
Gopal Sharma
Tribune News Service

Pankaj Dharmani in action on Friday.
Pankaj Dharmani in action on Friday. Tribune photo: S Chandan

Chandigarh, November 6
Punjab gave an improved batting display in the second essay as their Ranji Trophy Super League Group A match against champions Mumbai ended in a draw at the Sector 16 cricket stadium here today.

After off-spinner Ramesh Powar had slammed a hundred and O Khanvilkar had missed the milestone by 13 runs, paving the way for the crucial 212-run first-innings lead for Mumbai yesterday, the only interest left in the match was for the hosts to bat well and avoid an outright defeat.

Punjab batsmen were not found lacking. On the contrary, they did the job quite admirably. Opener Ravi Inder Singh, who slammed a century in the first innings, came good for the second time in the match, notching up an impressive half century.

Wicketkeeper batsman Uday Kaul and debutant Gaurav Gambhir both scored half centuries, while former skipper Pankaj Dharmani, made amends for his failure in the first innings with a scintillating 46-run knock, with nine hits to fence.

M S Goni was unbeaten along with Rahul Sharma having played a 32-ball 33 run cameo, underlining his utility as a batsman as well, as the hosts were 311 for 7 in 98 overs when the last day’s play ended.

Seeking a comeback to the Indian team after injury which has kept him out of the current ODI series against Australia, India pace spearhead Zaheer Khan bowled a steady spell finishing with three wickets in the innings.

With four wickets that he scalped in the first innings for a match haul of seven wickets, the seasoned left-arm seamer looks firmly on the path to recovery.

Punjab coach Bhupinder Singh Sr was content with the overall team performance. “We had a tough first match. I’m statisfied with the performance of the boys. Though they (Mumbai) took the first innings lead, there are some positives to have emerged from the match.”

“It was a case of they (Powar and Khanvilkar) batting well rather than our boys bowling badly,” he replied when asked about the fine rearguard action by the Mumbai lower order batsmen yesterday, which tilted the momentum heavily in favour of the visitors.

Mumbai gained three points from the match by virtue of the first innings lead, while Punjab will have to remain content with the lone point. Punjab next play Hyderabad at the PCA Stsadium, Mohali, from November 10.

Scoreboard

Punjab (Ist innings) 259
Mumbai (Ist Innings) 471
Punjab (2nd innings)

Sohal c Khanvilkar b Zaheer 4
Inder Singh c Samant b Kulkarni 58
Kaul c Khanvilkar b Rohit 62
Kohli c & b Nayar 12
Dharmani b Nayar 46
Kakkar c Samant b Zaheer 1
Gambhir not out 50
Sharma b Zaheer 22
Gony not out 33
Extras (b 2, lb 8, nb 13) 23
Total (7 wickets; 98 overs) 311
Fall of wickets: 1-6, 2-109, 3-138, 4-159, 5-164, 6-220, 7-266.
Bowling: Zaheer 24-7-92-3, Agarkar 20-4-77-0, Kulkarni 23-10-36-1, Rohit 11-2-32-1, Khanvilkar 1-1-0-0, Nayar 18-5-63-2, Rahane 1-0-1-0.

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Randhawa up to tied 8th after Rd2

Tiger Woods reacts after sinking a shot on the 18th hole during the second round on Friday.
Tiger Woods reacts after sinking a shot on the 18th hole during the second round on Friday. — Reuters

Shanghai, November 6
Back in form, Jyoti Randhawa remained in hunt for a top five finish, carding a sedate two-under 70 to lie tied eighth after the midway stage of the $7,000,000 WGC-HSBC Champions golf tournament here today. Compatriots C Muniyappa (69) rose to tied 37th at 143, two strokes ahead of Jeev Milkha Singh (72) who was tied 45th after the second round at Sheshan International Golf Club.

Gaganjeet Bhullar (150) was the lone Indian who could not improve his position and followed up his opening round 74 with 76 to slip to tied 70th. World number one Tiger Woods took his customary position atop the leaderboard, tying for the halfway lead with Nick Watney after shooting a second straight five-under 67.

The American world number one endured a frustrating front nine but stormed home with four birdies to join overnight leader Watney (70) on 10-under 134. Randhawa, a 10th tee starter, was even-par at the turn and he sunk three birdies, against one bogey, in his front nine to sign off with his second successive sub-par card.

It was a welcome return to form for the former Asia number one, who won the Singha Thailand Open earlier this year on the Asian Tour but failed to maintain his momentum. Randhawa, however, felt there was enough room for improvement in the short game department and hoped his putting would improve over the next couple of days. — PTI

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Surjit hockey from today
Kusum Arora
Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, November 6
Though the prestigious 26th Indian Oil Servo Surjit Hockey tournament is all set to get underway from tomorrow, Javed Hockey Club, Gojra (Pakistan), will not be seen in action, as the team has not reported for the tournament till date.

It seems that owing to the present sour relations between India and Pakistan the team failed to receive a go ahead. Asked to comment on the reason behind the team’s refusal to turn up for the prestigious event, director sports, Pargat Singh said, “I cannot say anything in this regard but since the team was not given any formal approval by the External Affairs ministry, it failed to reach here. The Government of India has not given a green signal to the Pakistani team so far.”

The organisers of the tournament maintained that there has been no official confirmation by the team in this regard. Organising secretary of the tournament, Iqbal Singh Sandhu said, “It is understood that the team is not coming for the tournament as they have failed to report so far. We had completed the official formalities in this regard nearly two months back. Moreover, the official confirmation is always made well in advance.”

It is pertinent to mention here that last year three Pakistan teams namely, Javed Hockey Club, Gojra, Crescent Hockey Club and Independent Hockey Club were seen in action during the tournament.

The tournament would be played on league-cum-knockout basis on the newly-laid polytan turf under floodlights at the local Olympian Surjit Hockey Stadium. As per the new schedule, the teams have been divided into four pools and winner team of the each pool will qualify for the semifinals, scheduled for November 12.

Last year’s champion Punjab & Sind Bank Delhi, Border Security Force (BSF) Jalandhar & Indian Air Force (IAF) Delhi have been put in pool A; Air India, Mumbai, Namdhari-XI, Sirsa & Punjab National Bank (PNB) Delhi have been kept in pool B.

Former champions Indian Oil, Mumbai, Rail Coach factory (RCF) Kapurthala & EME Jalandhar have been placed in pool C, while Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPC) Mumbai, Punjab Police & Corps of Signals, Jalandhar, are in pool D.

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Force India face legal action

Adrian Sutil (L) and V Luizzi
Adrian Sutil (L) and V Luizzi

London, November 6
Italian wind tunnel operator Aerolab said on Friday they were taking legal action against the Force India Formula One team for “serious and persistent” breaches of contract.

The company issued a statement after media reports suggested Force India were concerned that Lotus, who are now working closely with Aerolab’s parent company Fondtech, had copied details of their 2009 car.

Lotus F1 technical head Mike Gascoyne was previously employed by Silverstone-based Force India. Aerolab managing director Jean-Claude Migeot said in a statement that the Lotus rumours were “designed only to tarnish the company’s reputation and professionalism and to divert attention away from the facts.”

“The truth is that Aerolab is suing Force India for not fulfilling its obligations.” Force India were not immediately available for comment. — Reuters

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Pinegrove and YPS reach semis
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 6
The second day of the 12th Sub Junior Hockey Tournament for boys at Pinegrove, Dharampur witnessed some brilliant dribbling as the hosts humbled PPS, Nabha 2-0 in a keenly contested match.

The much awaited victory gave the Grovians a place in the semifinal. Both goals were scored in the second half. Anurag opened the account in the 31st minute and the second blow was given by Deepak Antil 18 minutes later. In the other matches PPS, Nabha were compensated as they thrashed British Co-Ed, Patiala 7-0 in a one sided match. Rana Pratap Singh and Gaiven Singh scored two goals each while Gurjot, Navdeep and Gurkirat contributed one goal each.

Lawrence School, Sanawar and Daly College, Indore continued their winning spree as LSS hammered YPS, Mohali 7-0. Sohrab Gill of Lawrence School displayed excellent stick-work and scored three goals.

Daly College and Pinegrove defeated British Co-ed, Patiala with astounding scores of 10-0 and 15-0, respectively. The scorers for Daly College were Sarvesh, Devashsish, Raghavraj and Dhruv Patel. Anurag scored seven goals and Deepak scored three goals for the hosts while Amandeep scored two and Madhur, Rajvansh and Aldrin scored one each. St. Soldier, Panchkula lost to YPS Patiala 0-4.

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 BRIEFLY

Ganguly back as KKR captain
KOLKATA:
Former India captain Sourav Ganguly on Friday returned as the Kolkata Knight Riders’ skipper for next year’s Indian Premier League, replacing Brendon McCullum. The controversy-ridden IPL outfit, which finished at the bottom of the table this year, also named Dav Whatmore as its new coach with Delhi Ranji coach Vijay Dahiya as his deputy. Pakistani pace legend Wasim Akram was appointed the mentor of the side. — PTI

Salzburg Red Bull’s Somen Tchoyi (R), vies for the ball with Levski Sofia’s Veselin Minev during their UEFA Europa League Group G soccer match in Sofia on Thursday.
Salzburg Red Bull’s Somen Tchoyi (R), vies for the ball with Levski Sofia’s Veselin Minev during their UEFA Europa League Group G soccer match in Sofia on Thursday.
— AP/PTI

Let Afridi lead ODI side: Inzy
KARACHI:
Captaincy brings out the best in Shahid Afridi feels former skipper Inzamam-ul Haq. “I think it would be a good choice because Afridi also gets along well with the other players of the team and has good communication skills and since he was given responsibility, he has been very effective in his individual performances as well,” he said. — PTI

Asian Indoor: India win 6 medals
HANOI:
India won six medals, including a gold in men’s kabbadi, on the penultimate day of the third Asian Indoor Games here on Friday. With Friday’s six medals, India’s medal tally swelled to 33. India are now in the eighth position in the medal table. Men’s kabbadi players gave India the gold by beating Iran 57-33 in the final. — PTI

Indian eves reach Asia Cup finals
BANGKOK:
It was a double delight for the Indian women’s hockey team as they edged out Korea 3-2 to sail into the Asia Cup final, which also assured them a berth in the 2010 World Cup in Argentina. Jasjeet Kaur struck twice and Rani Ramphal also found the net to put India 3-0 ahead in the semifinal before the Koreans twice breached the defence. — PTI

Prakash, Purav bow out
NEW DELHI:
India’s title hopes at the ATP Challenger event in Chuncheon, Korea ended after Prakash Amritraj went down in singles quarterfinals and Purav Raja lost in the doubles event. Unseeded Prakash went down fighting against Dutch Igoi Sijsling 6-7 (5), 4-6 in the singles quarterfinals. — PTI

AFC U19: Iraq blank India
NEW DELHI:
India football team started their AFC Cup Under-19 qualification campaign on a disastrous note with hosts Iraq blanking them 0-5 in their opening match. Amhed Waleed Hussain and Mustafa Jalal scored two goals, while substitute Muhaimen found the net once in the one-sided affair on Thursday. — PTI

WC: ‘SA must reach k/o stage’
JOHANNESBURG:
South Africa expect returning coach Carlos Alberto Parreira to guide the 2010 World Cup hosts through to at least the tournament’s knockout stages, the country’s FA chief said on Friday. “We felt we have a duty as an organisation to project or indicate to the coach what we really expect,” Kirsten Nematandani said. — Reuters

Rooney wants to emulate Giggs
LONDON:
England and Manchester United forward Wayne Rooney wants to finish his career at the club by emulating record appearance holder Ryan Giggs. “The number of games Giggs has played is unbelievable and if I can get anywhere near that, I’d be delighted, he said. — ANI

Ronaldo unsure of CL win
LONDON:
Portuguese and Real Madrid winger Cristiano Ronaldo still believes his new club has a long way to go to win the Champions League. “I don’t know if we are ready to win the Champions League. We are trying to take things one step at a time,” he said. — ANI

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